Kilifi, KENYA: Poor infrastructure at the Kenya Medical Training Institute (KMTC) Kilifi Campus has been termed as a stumbling block in the admission of students to take up courses at the institution.
The institution is said to be lacking enough classes to accommodate high numbers of students’ pursuing various courses in the institution.
Speaking over the weekend at the institution, Florence Hawa the institution’s principle, said the institution is required by the Nursing Council to admit a maximum of 40 students who will graduate and give quality health care.
“The Nursing Council looks at the Nursing department, labor wards and the staffing, which in Kilifi if you have to demonstrate the procedure of delivery of a baby and the lab only accommodates 40 students and same to the classes which is a problem to us,” said Hawa.
“But with more infrastructure we can admit up to two hundred students like other counties since we have several health facilities around, “added Hawa.
Hawa noted that out of the seventeen courses which are supposed to be offered by the institution, Kilifi Campus teaches only two of them, i.e Community Nursing and clinical medicine.
She said with the support of the CDF together with investors to construct classrooms and laboratories will increase the admission and introduce other courses.
At the same time, the Principal urged teachers to give directions to students on which subjects they are required for science courses they want to undertake.
She addressed with concern that it has been a challenge for most students who get the required grades to enroll in medical training but do not choose subjects which qualifies them for their courses.
“Kilifi produces students with best results for admission but they miss out on the science subjects that would qualify them to pursue those courses, “said Hawa.
“We get more than 20,000 applications in clinical medicine and nursing alone and when the students come, they are specific on what they want to learn but they never indicated when they were applying. KMTC,” added Hawa.
She also asked the Principals to ensure their schools have equipped laboratories for the students to be conversant with the equipment and material they will come across during their medical training.
This she said will also help the students to perform best in sciences, in order to boost their desire to go for the courses.
“Most of our schools do not have laboratories and this gives a hard time to our students. You cannot tell a student to study for chemistry yet you do not have a lab. This is not helping our children at all,” she said.
