Over 6,000 fail nurses, midwifery exams

A total of 44,413, of whom 14,291 were finalists and 30,122 continuing students, passed the exams. This means that a total of 14,291 finalists, who passed the exams qualify to join various hospitals to work.

However, a total of 6,146 students failed the examinations after they were not graded.

Speaking at the release of the exam results, the executive secretary of the Uganda Nurses and Midwifery Examinations Board (Unmeb),  Ms Hellen Mukakarisa, said there was an improved performance of candidates at the certificate level after registering 88.4 percent pass rate in 2023 compared to 87 percent in 2022.

The Board, however, registered a failure rate at the diploma level after registering a 94.9 percent pass rate in 2023 compared to 95.8 percent in 2022. A total of 383 learners did not turn up for the exams.

“Some of these learners failed to raise fees, others were sick while the rest were withdrawn due to excessive indiscipline. Others just quit studies,” she said.

But the State Minister for Higher Education, Mr John Chrysostom Muyingo, asked institutions to always permit learners with tuition challenges to sit for exams and pay at a later date.

“If my school did not permit me to sit for Senior Six with fees balance, I could not be who I am today. I paid the money later after joining the university. Students should be given a chance,” Mr Muyingo said.

The Board also revealed that they are set to discontinue 157 students from the programme after failing the papers several times.

Mr Muyingo revealed that his ministry had secured funds to review the curriculum of all nurses and midwifery programmes offered by various institutions across the country. 

However, he did not say how much had been set aside for the exercise.

“The ministry has prioritised review of all nursing and midwifery curriculum for the Financial Year 2023/24 and the process is ongoing,” he said.

According to Mr Muyingo, the country has experienced changes in the trends of diseases and associated care approaches, which need to be captured in the new curricula.

He also noted that use of ICT in delivering services to patients needs to be incorporated in the curriculum, among other global changes. The money needed for the review is yet to be determined by experts from the Unmeb after identifying the gaps and requirements.

Ms Mukakarisa said they also plan to introduce continuous assessment once the new curriculum is completed like it is at the lower secondary curriculum.

“We are still conducting various meetings and the experts will advise how many marks should be obtained from continuous assessment and for final exams,” Ms Mukakarisa said.

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