North Cape’s only nursing institution faces closure due to failure to meet accreditation criteria – SABC News

The only nursing school in the Northern Cape is at risk of closure due to the failure of the Ministry of Health to meet the criteria for accreditation of the university by the Council for Higher Education and the Council of Nurses in the country. This was revealed by various unions during a student and staff picket outside the Health MEC offices in Kimberley.

Classes were halted at Henrietta Stockdale Nursing College. It comes after disgruntled nursing students and their teachers took to the streets. They have been accusing the department for years of failing to meet their college challenges.

“The college has a toilet for all of us here, even the toilet paper is out of stock, we don’t even have toilet paper, we don’t have books, we don’t have cartridges, we don’t have anything. , we’re fighting, we’re writing letters, we’re writing emails and nothing’s been done until today, that’s why I was saying today it ends today,” says Sinazo Tsotsa: nursing student.

“Our living conditions have been unacceptable since the first year we fought for books. They expect us to pass without books. In our residence, we have no more water, the electricity is broken, but they expect us to study. We receive substandard food,” complains Ziola Beukes, a nursing student.

According to the unions, nursing regulatory and accrediting bodies reported that the college lacked proper basic infrastructure, training resources and qualified nurse educators.

“We only support student nurses and lecturers who are colleagues who are facing a problem which can certainly be a total closure of the nursing education institution which is the college of nursing and which is the only college of provincial nurses. and then when we face this issue, there may not be any production of healthcare workers in the province,” says Indaba Young Nurses Union National Organizer Kagiso Phajane.

The provincial Department of Health says it is aware of the infrastructure challenges facing the college.

Lebogang Majaha from the Northern Cape Health Department says: “As a department we are aware of some concerns raised by management and students regarding infrastructure. Some of the delays were caused by the delivery of materials and this is the issue that is getting attention. Meetings are underway to find amicable solutions.

The department says the college’s current budget for this financial year is R82 million.

VIDEO: Nursing students picket Henrietta Stockdale College of Nursing