Bunyoro demands Affirmative Action At Hoima School Of Nursing

Hoima District leadership is advocating for affirmative action in order to get more students from the area into Hoima School of Nursing.

The Nursing school was established four years ago by Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom in collaboration with the district local governments, but later government took over the management of the school in order to maintain the quality of education at the school.

The Kingdom and district had hoped to solve the chronic shortage of health workers in the region by establishing the school.

The school located in Hoima town, was later taken over by government in 2011 but since then, there has been complaints by parents that their children never get chance of being admitted to the Nursing school.

The complaints have attracted attention of authorities.

Hoima District Education Officer Godfrey Sserwanja says the district position now is to push for affirmative action, dictating that a certain percentage of the students admitted to the school should come from the region.

Sserwanja says he is now engaging the Ministry of Education and Sports to push through the idea.

Harriet Businge, the Minister of Education and Sports in Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom says the Kingdom has never attained its objective of establishing the Nursing school, since all those who complete return to home area or seek employment elsewhere.

Businge says she has already raised the kingdom concerns with the Minister of Education, Jessica Alupo and requested for affirmative action.

For academic year 2014, only five students out of 200 admitted to the school are from Bunyoro

Hoima District Chairman George Tinkamanyire Bagonza says he has interacted with the Principal who revealed that applications from the regio normally lack the required grades needed to join the school.

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