The Minister of Health Dr. Ruth Aceng has defended the government’s policy extending medical training to six years, saying the reform is aimed at safeguarding the health of Ugandans and improving the quality of medical practice.
Dr. Aceng explained that the decision was informed by concerns that some medical graduates had repeatedly failed internship assessments, with some failing up to four times even after completing medical school.
She said the new framework is intended to ensure that only candidates who successfully complete internship requirements qualify to graduate.
The Minister made the remarks while appearing before Parliament’s Health Committee during consideration of the 2026/27 Ministerial Policy Statement.
She was responding to concerns raised in a letter from the Federation of Uganda Medical Interns (FUMI).
Bukomansimbi North MP Christine Nandagire sought clarification on the policy shift from five to six years of study, questioning whether the additional year would require students to pay extra tuition fees.
“It has been passed that interns are going to start graduating after six years, yet most interns signed agreements with universities for a five-year course. Parents are confused, interns are confused. Will they be paying additional fees? Will they be paid? The ratio of patients to interns is already very high, and interns are overwhelmed,” Nandagire said.
However, Dr. Aceng maintained her position, noting that Uganda currently has over 33 medical training institutions, most of which are not directly supervised by the Ministry of Health but fall under the Ministry of Education. She said this has made it difficult to consistently regulate the quality of medical training.
“With 33 medical training institutions, the number of graduates released for internship annually is between 1,500 and 2,000. Gone are the days when we used to handle about 200 interns. Managing such numbers is challenging, but we are working within the available resources, and moving forward, the Ministry of Finance will allocate funding in line with the policy,” she said.
