(This article was first published in the New Vision on June 29, 2022)
By Arnest Tumwesige
Deans of Ugandan medical and dentistry schools have established a forum to improve the quality of teaching by facilitating resource sharing and research.
The academics, who formed the forum in Gulu recently, said they will use it to deal with challenges arising from the limited human resource by sharing content through online channels. This, they said, would eliminate the need for physical meetings to share knowledge.
Prof. Joel Okullu, the chairperson of the Uganda Medical and Dental Practitioners Council (UMDPC), said the low staffing level continues to hamper teaching in these institutions, but initiatives such as the new forum can solve the problem through resource sharing.
During the forum’s first meeting at Gulu University, Dr Joseph Ngonzi from Mbarara University of Science and Technology was elected its chairperson while Dr Gerald Tumusiime from Uganda Christian University was appointed secretary.
The UMDPC is a government institution charged with the responsibility of strengthening the training, registration and monitoring of doctors’ and dentists’ performance.
However, with the institution receiving only sh1b out of the required sh8b per year to run its activities, it can hardly discharge its mandate.
This, Okullu said, limits the supervision and monitoring of schools. It is hoped that the forum would also improve professionalism in the industry.
“We have a duty of protecting society against abuse by medical doctors. Every year, the council receives about 56 cases. The deans have a very important task in the area of training,” he added.
Dr Felix Kaducu, the dean of the faculty of medicine at Gulu University, said the forum will promote research and graduate training through collaboration and joint grants. He noted that improvement in the quality of training will translate into quality services to the people and enhancement of competitiveness of the graduates.
“We want to enhance the training through the forum so that our graduates can compete regionally. The Government should therefore support the forum and training institutions to get the required infrastructure and staffing,” he added.
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