Private health institutions across Uganda have raised concerns over the recently approved minimum entry requirements for health training programs, petitioning the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) to reconsider the new standards.
The Uganda Private Health Training Institutions Association (UPHTA), representing private institutions, argues that the changes will disproportionately affect disadvantaged learners and hinder Uganda’s progress toward Vision 2040.
In a petition dated April 8, 2025, and addressed to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, UPHTA emphasized that stakeholders were not consulted before the policy change.
“We as stakeholders were never consulted and believe that the same does not promote the Government of Uganda adopted Vision 2040 and technical, vocational education and training (TVET) policy as it will negatively impact achieving the objectives of the said policies by denying millions of Ugandan an opportunity from attending the health training,” the petition reads in part.
The controversy follows a circular issued by the Ministry on March 18, 2025, outlining new grading criteria for certificate and diploma programs in Health Training Institutions.
However, UPHTA claims the circular was made public too late, only being released on April 4, 2025, after most institutions had already admitted students for the January and July intakes.
“The Circular on the new grading was released on the 4th of April, though it was dated 18th March 2025. Majority of the schools had already admitted students for January and July 2025. This decision will greatly disadvantage the students and their parents since most of them have already paid tuition and are already at school,” the petition states.
Under the new criteria, candidates enrolling for certificate-level health programs must be at least 18 years old and have obtained a minimum grade of “C” in Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. Additionally, applicants must have two years of post-registration working experience with a professional body.
UPHTA argues that this requirement will significantly delay career progression for young people and contradict the objectives of Uganda’s TVET framework.
“The two years doesn’t only affect the youths’ career progression but also delays the youths’ acquisition of chances of getting better skill, competence and better jobs which undermines the purpose for which technical, vocational education and training policy was introduced,” the petition adds.
The association also warns that the new criteria favor a theoretical academic approach over competence-based learning, which is essential for skilling Ugandan youth for employment.
Additionally, the policy change, they argue, fails to consider challenges faced by students in rural and government seed schools, where access to fully equipped laboratories for science subjects remains a significant barrier.
“The said approved minimum entry requirements are discriminatory and did not put into consideration the upcountry schools including government seed schools where most of the poor attend education and have a challenge in accessing a fully equipped laboratory which is core in passing chemistry, biology and physics subjects,” the petition states.
To address these concerns, UPHTA has urged the Ministry to revert to a minimum requirement of at least a “D” grade in line with Uganda National Examination Board (UNEB) guidelines.
They have also requested the suspension of the new policy pending comprehensive stakeholder consultations.
Additionally, they recommend that the Ministry verify and register students who sat for the 2024 Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) exams to allow them to sit for their June 2025 examinations without disruption.
