Med school place buyers to be named and shamed

THE Department of Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande has waded into the selling of places at the prestigious UKZN Medical School.The medical school was thrust into the spotlight a few weeks ago when it emerged that some of the medical students had bought their spots into the school.

A Somerset Park woman was implicated in the syndicate that was foiled by the Hawks. Nzimande said not only did they take the medical places debacle ‘very seriously’ but added they the perpetrators of fake qualifications, would be prosecuted and publicly named and shamed when caught.

He said just like the selling and buying of study places, fraudulent qualifications posed a grave danger to the credibility of the country’s education system.

Read Also: Hawks arrest three in UKZN med school bust

“This is a matter which we take very seriously and we commend both our law enforcement agencies and institutions of higher learning for working together to rid the higher education system of this scourge,” Minister Nzimande said.

Responding to media inquiries that a possible solution to the problem of spaces in medical schools around the country could be alleviated if the department allows private medical colleges to be built, the Minister said the government was giving due consideration to expanding medical education in South Africa – which was currently being offered through nine public universities.

He said there was a high demand for spaces in medical schools for the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB).He added that the department is working with the National Department of Health, through the Joint Health Sciences Education Committee (JHSEC) to plan for the expansion of medical education, including the establishment of new faculties to offer the MBChB.

Read Also: UKZN widens investigation into med school fraud ring

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