Chronicle Editor
Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Correspondent
GOVERNMENT is expanding the teaching of medicine at universities and is immediately recruiting 167 lecturers for Midlands State University’s Faculty of Medicine for it to operate independently.
The Faculty of Medicine at MSU was opened in 2015 but operated under the University of Zimbabwe.
In an interview yesterday, Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Minister Professor Amon Murwira said Treasury assented to strengthening universities through bolstering their staff.
As a result, 351 teaching and non-teaching staff will be employed at the country’s universities in the coming year with 167 being lecturers at MSU’s Faculty of Medicine.
Prof Murwira said the Faculty of Medicine at MSU has largely been incubated by a similar faculty at University of Zimbabwe but its expansion means it has to operate independently.
“We started a good idea at MSU which relied heavily on the Faculty of Medicine at University of Zimbabwe. But with the expansion of the Medicine Faculty at MSU we approached Treasury which agreed to release funds for the employment of lecturers for the MSU Faculty of Medicine,” he said.
Prof Murwira said Government is not only capacitating the MSU Medicine Faculty as there is a lot of ground work at other universities regarding the teaching of medicine.
“What is practical is to continue training and continue expanding. We are going to expand the medical school at National University of Science and Technology, BancABC has agreed to bankroll that one. We are going to expand with new lecturers at MSU. We are developing the Great Zimbabwe Medical School and at the same time we are trying to ensure that the capacity of the University of Zimbabwe Medical School increases. At Bindura (University of Science and Education) we have started optometry degree which is also part of the medical expansion,” said Prof Murwira.
He said expanding the teaching of medicine in universities entails that Government should have requisite infrastructure to be used by both learners and their lecturers.
Prof Murwira said Government will continue training medicine students paying little attention as to whether they leave or stay in the country after they graduate.
– @nqotshili
derick.khumalo