NOEL IYOMBWA writes
@SunZambia
MINISTER of Higher Education Brian Mushimba has called for the restocking of training equipment in laboratories at both the University of Zambia’s (UNZA) Ridgeway Campus and Copperbelt University’s (CBU) Medical School.
Dr Mushimba said the two universities required restocking and demanded concerted efforts from all stakeholders to ensure modern and right equipment was installed in the laboratories.
He was speaking during the recent familiarisation tour of UNZA’s Ridgeway Campus on Friday.
Dr Mushimba said the training of medical personnel was critical and that it required hands-on experience and exposure to modern medical equipment before students could be channeled out into the field.
He said the significance of laboratories in any medical school could not be over-emphasised because it was through the laboratories students physically saw and touched things as well as translated the theories they learned from textbooks.
Dr Mushimba said the lack of training apparatuses in the laboratories was dangerous because the training of medical personnel required precision.
It involved the handling of lives for human beings.
He said the danger of letting the status quo continue was that the two institutions would risk producing professionals with theoretical know-how but lacking exposure to practicals in new medical equipment.
That could pose a risk to Zambia’s population.
Dr Mushimba said upgrading and bringing modern equipment in the laboratories needed to be addressed urgently, and urged cooperating partners to supplement the government’s efforts in addressing the situation at UNZA and CBU.
