Police have been called in to disperse a group of pre-medical interns from Makerere University‘s Medical School protesting against the Ministry of Health’s failure to deploy them for internship. Sources indicate that a number of interns from the 2024 cohort gathered to protest the failure by the Ministry of Health to place any of the 125 qualified students from Makerere University in any medical center.
The demonstration was provoked by the Ministry of Health’s recent declaration of posting 2,500 medical students for an internship. Only about 1,200 students, from all over the country, made it to the final list, omitting the entire cohort of Makerere University.
Prof. Annet Nakimuli, the Dean of the School of Medicine at Makerere University, expressed shock over the matter. She says the university management is engaging relevant authorities to ensure the challenge is handled and that students are deployed for internships.
“We are holding meetings to ensure that our students are deployed and continue their medical training,” said Nakimuli, underscoring the urgency that the crisis of deployment be solved.
This non-deployment has rendered these students in a dilemma, suspending their medical careers and putting a question mark over their professional futures. The university is at the forefront of negotiating with health officials to have this anomaly corrected and the necessary placements for all affected students.
Attention remains on finding quick solutions as the situation unfolds so that the pre-medical interns could finally complete their training and move forward into medical careers.
