The school of nursing was closed two weeks ago and the
affected students have been deployed to Silveria School of Nursing in Masvingo
and Mutambara School of Nursing in Manicaland to continue with their studies.
The closure of the school has attracted the ire of locals.
The local community said the closure of District Hospital School of Nursing
will affect health delivery services as the students played a critical role at
the hospital.
According to a letter written by Nkayi district medical
officer Doctor Heron Dube, which the Chronicle is in possession of, students
were notified of the closure of the
training school.
“Following communication dated 16 January 2024 received
from the Ministry of Health and Child Care, student nurse (name withheld) is
being released from the Nkayi School of Nursing with effect from 20 January
2024 to continue her Primary Care Nursing training at Mutambara School of
Nursing effective 23 January 2024,” read the letter written to one of the
affected students.
Dr Dube said the arrest of the two tutors and their
subsequent court appearance has left the students stranded with no lessons
taking place for days.
“Ideally, the training school must have four tutors to run
efficiently, but we had two tutors who have a pending case before the courts
and a decision was reached for the students to be deployed elsewhere so that
they can finish their courses and go on with their lives,” he said.
“We have a challenge with securing tutors as they are
leaving the ministry in numbers and it’s difficult to replace them. This is why
the training school has been operating with just two tutors.”
Dr Dube said they hope to recruit another batch of students
for the May 2024 intake. “These nurses learn and train for the nation and are
deployed to any part of the country when they complete their courses. That is
why it’s important that the students continue with their studies elsewhere
because they are an integral part of the health care system for the whole
country,” he said.
The two tutors, who have been identified as Ms Miriam Rimbi
Reza and Mrs Tabeth Ncube, are set to appear before a regional magistrate in
Bulawayo. Their case was moved from the Nkayi magistrate’s courts.
In a letter addressed to provincial medical directors of
Matabeleland North, Manicaland and Masvingo provinces, the Permanent Secretary
in the Ministry of Health and Child Care, Dr Aspect Maunganidze said the
affected students would be deployed to Silveria and Mutambara Schools of
Nursing.
“Nkayi District Hospital nurse tutors are undergoing court
sessions in Bulawayo following allegations of corruption. This has left 33
students who were left unattended with no lessons since there is no teaching
staff at the institution to continue with tutorials,” read the letter.
“The 33 primary care nursing (PCN) students comprise of 23
students who started training on 16 January 2023 and had completed Block 2
training and had sat for their examinations. Their date of completion was 2
February 2025.”
“The PCN students commenced training on 1 May 2023 and
their date of completion was supposed to be 27 April 2025. They failed and were
back-grouped to the May 2023 group for Block 2. Recruitments were not done in
May 2023 and therefore there was no PCN group at the school for them to join.”
Dr Maunganidze recommended that the 23 students be deployed
to Silveria School of Nursing and revise for four weeks to enable them to sit
for Block 2 examinations while the 10 be deployed at Mutambara School of
Nursing to commence Block 2.
“Based on the above background, expedite the transfer
processes,” read part of the letter.
The Chronicle news crew spoke to one of the affected
students on Tuesday who said they have been inconvenienced by the move.
“We were given just five days to pack our bags and travel
to either Masvingo or Manicaland at our own expense, which is not fair because
it’s not our fault that the school here was closed. The tutors who are accused
of corruption are known for demanding kickbacks from students to be recruited,
but the bosses have been turning a blind eye all this time,” said the student.
Mrs Rejoice Mathe from Nkuba Village said: “If so many of
them (student nurses) have left for other provinces then we are going to suffer
as we will spend several hours in the queues before being attended to. We also
want our own children to train here and become nurses but how will this happen
when the school has been closed. We urge Government to look into the issue of
re-opening the school.” Chronicle
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