Barrier Lifted: Govt Scraps One-Sitting Rule Blocking Nurse Trainees
The Government has abolished the requirement for nurse training applicants to pass five O-Level subjects in a single sitting, in a move aimed at widening access to training opportunities for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Health and Child Care Minister Dr Douglas Mombeshora made the announcement in Parliament on Wednesday during a question-and-answer session, explaining that the number of sittings does not reflect a student’s academic ability.
“We removed the requirement that students must have sat once for their O-levels. We discovered that some children didn’t fail — their parents simply couldn’t afford to register five or more subjects at once.
“In those places, we are paving the way for those who have more than one sitting to be enrolled,” Dr Mombeshora explained.
He also revealed that nurse training institutions are now expected to recruit at least 50 percent of their intake from local communities.
This is part of a broader quota system introduced in 2024 to ensure equal representation across districts.
Responding to concerns raised by Mkoba MP John Kuka about rural students being repeatedly overlooked, Dr Mombeshora assured Parliament that the ministry is working to address long-standing disparities.
“The quota system was meant to promote equal representation across all districts. It is recommended that responsible officers consider those who have been applying for a long time and meet the entry requirements but are not shortlisted,” Dr Mombeshora stated.
According to Chronicle, the number of applicants far exceeds available slots, and many nurse training schools face shortages of teaching staff and infrastructure.
Dr Mombeshora noted that only 23 out of 73 training institutions have adopted e-learning, which helps ease staffing pressure but is hindered by limited access to ICT equipment and WiFi.
“It is a mammoth task. That is why we simply said in every district that has a hospital training nurses, that same district must have 50 percent of the students coming from that area.
“That is the quota we implemented, and the province should provide a certain percentage,” Dr Mombeshora pointed out.
To expand training capacity, the Government is now engaging private institutions and considering more hospitals for nurse education.
Dr Mombeshora cited Hwange Hospital as an example of a non-government facility that has begun training nurses.
He acknowledged that many applicants have tried multiple times without success due to limited slots.
“It is true that we have the challenge of those children who apply once or twice or three times and fail to be enrolled. We are now taking in private schools that will train those nurses,” Dr Mombeshora added.
The minister also addressed concerns about future employment for graduates, indicating that the Government is working with Treasury to ensure that nurse recruitment keeps pace with training output.
“We discussed with the Treasury that the number of nurses should double by 2030 and we need to ensure that those trained nurses are recruited,” Dr Mombeshora emphasised.
