Health Minister Proposes Dropping English Requirement for Nurse Training, After Removing Maths
Health Minister Douglas Mombeshora has signaled a potential change in the mandatory requirements for nurse training applicants, suggesting that an Ordinary Level pass in English Language may no longer be necessary. This follows the recent decision by the Ministry of Health to eliminate the requirement of passing O’ Level Mathematics for nurse training qualification, a requirement that had been in place since 2015.
Minister Mombeshora expressed his desire to further amend the requirements during a press briefing on Tuesday, highlighting concerns that the English language requirement was burdensome and discriminatory. This potential shift in policy aims to streamline the nurse training application process and ensure that barriers to entry, such as stringent academic prerequisites, are minimized or removed altogether.
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“We are still looking into a pathway for more people who are committed to nursing. We are looking at issues like if passing English with a C of better is important because anyone who has passed all these subjects has been taught in English,” Mombeshora said, speaking during a post-cabinet briefing in Harare.
“So, we will keep on reviewing and making sure that we make accessibility to training to various disciplines affordable and accessible to all Zimbabweans.”
Mombeshora advocated for the removal of O’ Level Mathematics as a prerequisite for nurse training enrollment, arguing that it is not a crucial subject within the medical field.
“The key subject for you to go into medicine is Chemistry, so we have retained the requirement to have passed a science subject which is a key subject to go into nursing. We are actually leaving a lot of people who have got the capacity and capabilities out of the training because of Maths,” he said.
Concerns have been raised about the potential for underqualified youths associated with the ruling Zanu PF party to be prioritized for nurse training under the new recruitment criteria. This strategy mirrors tactics seen in army recruitment, where candidates are required to demonstrate patriotism as part of the selection process.
