Kenya Medical Training College needs to be revamped
Kenya Medical Training College, my alma mater, is an institution still stuck in the 20th century. For some reasons unbeknown to me the college has refused to advance. They still issue the very certificates and diplomas they started with in the second quarter of the last century. However, even despite this many Kenyans still see it as a prestigious institution. Indeed, every year, thousands, if not tens of thousands, apply for a place in one of the several programmes that are offered by the centres dotted all over the country.
In 1996, I was one such naïve youth. I had just finished high school the previous year. Of course, like most of my contemporaries, I was highly elated about my prospects when I got the admission; my future, somehow, seemed very bright. An admission to the college would assure me a permanent job with the government, or so we innocently thought. Scholarship for further studies though not a guarantee was also possible, depending on how tall your relatives were - yeah, that is Kenya.
However, things would not be rosy forever for we got the shock of our life while still studying at the institution. The former President - Moi - while officiating at the college’s graduation ceremony, in 1998, informed us that the government would thenceforth stop employing us automatically after finishing our studies. A Ministry of Health job was no longer a guarantee for us. This, however, has not deterred some more credulous Kenyan boys and girls from seeking a place at the institution. In fact, the college gets an even more number of new students every year. The increase year on year though not exponential is still significant. The numbers are so high that, like the other institutions of higher learning in the country, the administrators have started evening classes and some other forms of ‘parallel arrangements’.
There is no problem with our youth getting some form of education. I do, indeed, applaud such an initiative and would go for even the most humble form of education. However, there is a big problem that only graduates of these centres are aware of; the issue is so grave that many a former student is seen regretting the very idea of joining the supposedly prestigious institution, in the first place. These students, immediately after completing their programmes realise that they are stuck with transcripts they can’t transfer to other degree granting institutions. No university in Kenya offers the same courses, as offered at KMTC, at a higher level. Thus, with the exception of a few and mostly nurses, there are no prospects for further education for the rest, at least in Kenya.
Actually, most graduates realise that they can’t even compete at the job market; almost every other person has a degree. I can’t fault potential employers for giving preference to degree holders. This, therefore, leads most former students to enrol in any degree programme that is convenient for them. You will be surprised to see quite a number of them attend evening classes to get some Bachelor of Arts degree. Not that there is anything wrong with getting a BA but I just find it not necessary for health professionals. I think we need them to continue learning in their field and not what is easily available in the market. However, I gather Mount Kenya University and KEMU are currently offering degree programmes in line with certain programmes taught at KMTC while accepting credit transfer. This should be a commendable endeavour from their part.
Also, a few years back, most universities in Kenya were admitting KMTC graduates in their Master of Public Health programmes but they have all stopped that. The exception in this regard is the newly formed Great Lakes University of Kisumu. Luckily, many British universities recognise the worth of the diplomas from the medical college but only a very negligible few can afford to continue their postgraduate education in the United Kingdom. Sadly, KMTC is not even listed with UNESCO as an institution of higher learning in Kenya. This, thus, precludes former students from attempting to apply to most countries (especially other European countries) that utilise the UNESCO list as a source of confirmation for accredited institutions, all over the world.
At the turn of the new millennium, I remember seeing a plan of modernising KMTC to make it a degree granting college. However, this ambitious plan was thwarted by the myopic view of the tutors at the college. Majority of the instructors are themselves just diploma holders and they had real fears about their would have been imminent redundancies, if the plan would have kicked off. In fact, there was an advert in the newspapers for lectures with a minimum of a master’s degree. This was not to be, the vacancies’ notice was cancelled just a few days later. Rumour had it that the tutors threatened to strike and paralysis the centres. I am not sure why the administrators gave in to that but close to a decade later I have not come across anything similar, at least in the media.
Therefore, while acknowledging the need to have middle-level skilled health professionals we also need to have mechanisms to ensure the quality of their knowledge and skills. This can only be guaranteed if the lecturers themselves are well qualified. However, whereas I do not think that being a diploma holder in itself is a bad thing we need to have training opportunities for the tutors first. I believe well trained lecturers would be at a better position in imparting knowledge to their students than is currently the case. They need to be well updated in their respective fields and be competitive globally, as well.
Thus, the government needs to take the issue of health care personnel in Kenya very seriously. Else KMTC will be rendered obsolete in due course. I think it won’t be long before we reach there. Already, I see some former colleagues advising their younger ones to rather attend universities, here in Kenya or even Uganda, than joining KMTC for a diploma that they would be stuck with. Let’s take the issue of KMTC seriously, in the spirit of Vision 2030. I honestly do not see the reason why someone should waste three years to get a diploma that is not equivalent to a two years associate degree in the United States. Of course we need to have competent graduates but we also need to think of their future scholastic ambitions. We can only prosper once we have an adequate pool of qualified and competent human resources.
In 1996, I was one such naïve youth. I had just finished high school the previous year. Of course, like most of my contemporaries, I was highly elated about my prospects when I got the admission; my future, somehow, seemed very bright. An admission to the college would assure me a permanent job with the government, or so we innocently thought. Scholarship for further studies though not a guarantee was also possible, depending on how tall your relatives were - yeah, that is Kenya.
However, things would not be rosy forever for we got the shock of our life while still studying at the institution. The former President - Moi - while officiating at the college’s graduation ceremony, in 1998, informed us that the government would thenceforth stop employing us automatically after finishing our studies. A Ministry of Health job was no longer a guarantee for us. This, however, has not deterred some more credulous Kenyan boys and girls from seeking a place at the institution. In fact, the college gets an even more number of new students every year. The increase year on year though not exponential is still significant. The numbers are so high that, like the other institutions of higher learning in the country, the administrators have started evening classes and some other forms of ‘parallel arrangements’.
There is no problem with our youth getting some form of education. I do, indeed, applaud such an initiative and would go for even the most humble form of education. However, there is a big problem that only graduates of these centres are aware of; the issue is so grave that many a former student is seen regretting the very idea of joining the supposedly prestigious institution, in the first place. These students, immediately after completing their programmes realise that they are stuck with transcripts they can’t transfer to other degree granting institutions. No university in Kenya offers the same courses, as offered at KMTC, at a higher level. Thus, with the exception of a few and mostly nurses, there are no prospects for further education for the rest, at least in Kenya.
Actually, most graduates realise that they can’t even compete at the job market; almost every other person has a degree. I can’t fault potential employers for giving preference to degree holders. This, therefore, leads most former students to enrol in any degree programme that is convenient for them. You will be surprised to see quite a number of them attend evening classes to get some Bachelor of Arts degree. Not that there is anything wrong with getting a BA but I just find it not necessary for health professionals. I think we need them to continue learning in their field and not what is easily available in the market. However, I gather Mount Kenya University and KEMU are currently offering degree programmes in line with certain programmes taught at KMTC while accepting credit transfer. This should be a commendable endeavour from their part.
Also, a few years back, most universities in Kenya were admitting KMTC graduates in their Master of Public Health programmes but they have all stopped that. The exception in this regard is the newly formed Great Lakes University of Kisumu. Luckily, many British universities recognise the worth of the diplomas from the medical college but only a very negligible few can afford to continue their postgraduate education in the United Kingdom. Sadly, KMTC is not even listed with UNESCO as an institution of higher learning in Kenya. This, thus, precludes former students from attempting to apply to most countries (especially other European countries) that utilise the UNESCO list as a source of confirmation for accredited institutions, all over the world.
At the turn of the new millennium, I remember seeing a plan of modernising KMTC to make it a degree granting college. However, this ambitious plan was thwarted by the myopic view of the tutors at the college. Majority of the instructors are themselves just diploma holders and they had real fears about their would have been imminent redundancies, if the plan would have kicked off. In fact, there was an advert in the newspapers for lectures with a minimum of a master’s degree. This was not to be, the vacancies’ notice was cancelled just a few days later. Rumour had it that the tutors threatened to strike and paralysis the centres. I am not sure why the administrators gave in to that but close to a decade later I have not come across anything similar, at least in the media.
Therefore, while acknowledging the need to have middle-level skilled health professionals we also need to have mechanisms to ensure the quality of their knowledge and skills. This can only be guaranteed if the lecturers themselves are well qualified. However, whereas I do not think that being a diploma holder in itself is a bad thing we need to have training opportunities for the tutors first. I believe well trained lecturers would be at a better position in imparting knowledge to their students than is currently the case. They need to be well updated in their respective fields and be competitive globally, as well.
Thus, the government needs to take the issue of health care personnel in Kenya very seriously. Else KMTC will be rendered obsolete in due course. I think it won’t be long before we reach there. Already, I see some former colleagues advising their younger ones to rather attend universities, here in Kenya or even Uganda, than joining KMTC for a diploma that they would be stuck with. Let’s take the issue of KMTC seriously, in the spirit of Vision 2030. I honestly do not see the reason why someone should waste three years to get a diploma that is not equivalent to a two years associate degree in the United States. Of course we need to have competent graduates but we also need to think of their future scholastic ambitions. We can only prosper once we have an adequate pool of qualified and competent human resources.
Labels: KMTC
posted by Baqad at
10:38 AM
1 Comments:
I have, since posting this article, realized that KMTC is soon to start collaborating with Curtin University, in Australia. This was one of the collapsed plans that I was referring to. I am happy to note that. It, indeed, is a step in the right direction. However, I see the programme is currently limited to environmental health sciences higher diploma graduates and it would have been better if they catered for the other fields offered at the college, as well. It would also be commendable if they thought of degrees beyond the undergraduate level.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home