Uzima University to appeal regulators’ decision to shut its school of medicine

 Uzima University Vice Chancellor Designate Rev. Father Cosmas Rhagot{second right|} address the media in Kisumu today and said they will challenge the decision by two regulators to shut its school of medicine-Photo By Dickson Odhiambo

By Dickson Odhiambo

March 11, 2020

Uzima University to appeal regulators’ decision to shut its school of medicine

THE Management and the Council of Uzima University in Kisumu has promised to make appeal against the recent decision by two regulators to shut down its school of medicine for alleged non-compliance.

The management led by Uzima University Vice Chancellor Designate Reverend Father Cosmas Rhagot said together with the University Council they will request both the East Africa Community Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council and the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council to carry out a re-inspection of the institution especially its school of medicine.

Addressing the press at the institution today so as to clear the air on reports witnessed in a section of the media that the Uzima University School of Medicine has been shut, the Vice Chancellor Rhagot said the University has been a victim of contradictory recommendations from two regulatory authorities namely KMPDC and EACMPDB which seems not to respect each other’s decision.

Rhagot says if professionalism and audit ethics had been strictly adhered to by the evaluator which is the EACMPDB and by sharing the final report with the Uzima University which was being evaluated before releasing it to the media then many glaring anomalies in the final report which has damaged good reputation of the School of Medicine would have been averted and corrected.

“Going by the International Standards and benchmarks of evaluation and quality assurance audits, it is very unethical to vary the exit report from the final report without the courtesy of engaging the indulgence of the institution that has been evaluated which is in this case Uzima University school of medicine,” the University Management say in a signed press release.

They further claim that the marking scheme used during evaluation was not strictly adhered to, adding that if this was so then the university would have not been denied the marks it deserves.

“That the Positive image and strength of Uzima portrayed on the exit and final reports based on the evidences adduced during the evaluation and accurately captured in the reports are glaring inconsistent with the verdict of non-compliance. Any scholar analytically reading this report and its conclusion wil be baffled at the level of inconsistency and lack of objectivity displayed,” they add.

Speaking during the same press briefing, the Dean School of Medicine Dr. Boniface Ganda said the recommendation by the EACMPDB to have Uzima University close down its school of medicine and students re-distributed to other universities and the decision that the Board will come to re-audit the school within six months was ill-advised.

He adds that this is tantamount to burying a faith based institution alive for reasons which do not warrant such a death.

“Conventional wisdom dictates that you don’t evaluate a dead institution and further ask it to put up and equip laboratories worth shs 150million in six months, while in real sense our existing laboratories are well equipped and can accommodate all the functionalities required for the training with little reorganization and have been rated second to none in the East African Community Region,” he said

He assured the students at the Uzima University school of Medicine that there is no course for alarm as the issue is being sorted, adding the school has a total of 217 students currently.

“We want to assure our students, parents, guardians, partners and the general public at large that Uzima University management and the Council are committed to providing to the world well educated agents of health, medical, social transformative doctors and healthcare givers,” he further added.

ENDS: