Lahja Nashuuta
The Health Professions Council of Namibia (HPCNA) has rejected accusations that it has failed to regulate the rapid growth of private nursing schools.
The regulator insists that while compliance gaps exist, several institutions are properly accredited and delivering quality training.
Registrar and CEO of the HPCNA Cornelius Weyulu acknowledged concerns about unapproved colleges but cautioned against blanket generalisations.
He was responding to allegations raised in Parliament by Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) MP Winnie Moongo, who tabled a motion on the commercialisation of nursing training.
In her motion, he accused regulators of failing to enforce accreditation standards.
She criticised the Namibia Qualifications Authority (NQA) for allowing unregistered colleges to openly enrol students under the guise of being “in the process of accreditation”.
“Why must we wait for the public to suffer before action is taken? Section 10 of the NQA Act clearly mandates the Authority to monitor quality and ensure compliance. By failing to act assertively, NQA is allowing profit-driven institutions to flourish at the expense of both students and public safety,” she charged.
Moongo raised concerns about overcrowded hospitals and unethical conduct by students.
“I have received alarming accounts of students forging signatures in their logbooks just to meet qualification requirements,” she said, warning that poorly trained nurses fuel lawsuits against the health ministry.
Weyulu dismissed the accusations, maintaining that many institutions are compliant.
“Such a claim is not entirely true. There are private nursing schools that have met the prescribed requirements and are delivering training of good quality.
However, there are also those attempting to provide training without approval, or struggling to properly implement their approved curricula,” he said.
Namibia currently has 19 institutions offering approved nursing programmes. However, Weyulu admitted that compliance challenges persist. He revealed that:
Two institutions were reported to the police for offering nursing courses without approval, four institutions had their curricula rejected for failing to meet standards, while 12 institutions are under investigation despite having approved programmes.
Intake, overcrowding
Weyulu rejected claims that regulators are to blame for hospital overcrowding.
He explained that the Council inspects training hospitals to determine their student capacity, and intake limits are set accordingly.
“Hospitals with effective leadership do not experience such problems. Overcrowding occurs mainly where allocation guidelines are ignored,” he said.
Until December, when the Health Professions Act No. 16 of 2024 came into effect, the HPCNA had limited powers to restrict admissions.
“Now, with the Act in force, the minister will soon issue regulations to strengthen our authority to regulate intakes, campus expansions and annual admissions,” Weyulu said.
MPs concerns
Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) MP Lilani Brinkman recalled her own experience as a victim of an unregistered institution.
“I, too, was a student at a health training institution in Namibia – one that was, to our shock, not registered with the Nursing Council. What was supposed to be a two-year course turned into four long, uncertain years,” she said.
Brinkman said students were strung along with false promises of approval, leaving them unemployable.
“Where is the oversight from the ministry of health? How are students allowed to waste years only to find themselves unemployable?” she asked.
She warned of an oversupply of nurses that the health system cannot absorb.
“We are producing more nurses than the health system can employ, while hospitals still hire from abroad. This is a failure of health workforce planning,” Brinkman stressed.
However, Weyulu clarified that the HPCNA cannot open or close schools.
Institutions are established through the Business and Intellectual Property Authority (BIPA) and accredited by the NQA.
The Council’s mandate is limited to approving and monitoring nursing curricula.
“The HPCNA only comes in to approve the nursing curriculum prepared by an institution already established and approved by other authorities. Only the authority that approves the establishment of an institution has the power to close it,” he explained.
Weyulu said the Council can, however, withdraw approval of a curriculum based on evidence of non-compliance and refuse to recognise training offered in contravention of requirements.
Enforcement
Moongo and Brinkman urged regulators to enforce existing directives more aggressively, including student caps, intake limits, freezes on campus expansion and compulsory graduate evaluations.
Affirmative Repositioning (AR) MP Ester Haikola-Sakaria echoed these calls, insisting on full implementation of the Health Professions Act of 2024.
“Legislation without implementation is as good as a paper shield. The regulator must use the powers it has been given,” she said.
While citing Section 29 of the Act, she added: “the Council has the authority to demand accountability. If schools cannot meet the required standards, they should not be allowed to operate. Period!”.
In response, Weyulu assured Parliament that the new Act, combined with mandatory pre-registration evaluations for graduates, would strengthen oversight and protect students.
“The HPCNA remains committed to ensuring that only qualified institutions provide nursing education, and that graduates entering the health system are competent and well-trained,” he said.