Clayton Shereni
MASVINGO– Controversy and poor results are slowly becoming order of the day at Masvingo Provincial Hospital School of Nursing as students continue to fail amid internal power wrangles raging on at the institution.
Since 2020 low percentage pass rates have been recorded, with sabotage and politics being cited as some of the contributing factors to a poor spate of results.
The pass rate that usually skyrocketed up to over 90 percent over the years was reduced to 50 percent in 2020 and this year recorded below 20 percent.
In May last year, 14 students reportedly sat for their final year examination and only seven passed, a number that translates to 50 percent pass rate.
A paltry 18.8 percent was also recorded when a combined 16 students reportedly wrote their examinations in May this year including some who had failed the previous and only three passed.
The failed 13 students got another chance to repeat where three of them passed, and the remaining 10 had no option but to withdraw translating to a 21 percentage pass rate.
Another group of 14 students that also sat for their exam this year recorded a zero percent pass rate.
Contacted for comment Masvingo Provincial Hospital Public Relations Officer, Mercy Zulu directed all questions to the Provincial Medical Director Doctor Amadeus Shamhu.
Dr Shamhu said the low pass rate was a nationwide problem but also revealed that they were carrying out investigations at Masvingo Provincial Hospital School of Nursing.
“There was a general decrease in the pass rate nation-wide, we did not witness this in our province only, however we are carrying out investigations to establish reasons for the decrease at our school of nursing,” said Dr Shamhu.
However, efforts to get a comment from the school’s senior tutor Catherine Sithole were fruitless, as she did not pick up her mobile phone up until the time of going to print.
Ministry of Health and Childcare Public Relations Officer, Donald Mujiri could not be drawn to comment said his phone’s network reception was bad as he was at the airport.
Inside sources allege that politicking and sabotage was taking its toll at the school after a rotation of the school’s board of management in 2020, a development that has seen a free fall of the pass rate percentage at the institution.
The school that is one of the several government run schools of nursing trains over 40 students every year and has been immensely contributing to the national health system.
