500 medical colleges to be shut

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By JUSTUS WANGA newsdesk@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Friday, February 10  2012 at  22:30

IN SUMMARY

• Students who study in institutions offering laboratory courses without a licence will not get jobs anywhere

Students in more than 500 institutions offering medical laboratory courses will not practise because their certificates are not recognised. The colleges will also be shut down.

This is according to the Kenya Medical Laboratory Technicians and Technologists’ Board (KMLTTB) and the Ministry of Medical Services.

Medical Services minister Anyang Nyong’o said most institutions offering the course were operating without a licence and any certificate they issued was not recognised by the government.

They do not have the personnel and equipment to train laboratory technicians adequately, added the minister.

The government will crack down on such institutions.

“Students cannot practise because they have been denied certificates by the board. Also, the training they receive does not meet laboratory standards locally and internationally,” Prof Nyong’o said.

But the minister said that even licensed colleges admit more students than the number allowed, compromising quality.

Some of their graduates thus conduct tests incorrectly and use substandard equipment.

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In addition to ensuring the competency of technicians, the government was pushing for legislation that will set the standards for equipment and reagents used in laboratories.

“The ministry has approved the gazzettment of regulations on validation laboratory equipment and reagents ,” Prof Nyong’o said.

Medical laboratories board chief executive Michael Abala Wanga said they are registering professionals trained in various medical laboratory disciplines such as microbiology or parasitology. Such experts, however, must pass the board’s registration examination.

Mentorship programme

The two were speaking in Kisumu during a ceremony to mark the accreditation of Kisumu Polytechnic by the board.

Others who attended the launch include High Education minister Margaret Kamar and the PS in the Ministry of Medical Services Mary Ngare.

The PS said the country has formed an accreditation committee that will mentor professionals in 13 public and referral laboratories to guarantee quality of services.