The Executive Secretary of the Uganda Nurses and Midwives Examination Board (UNMEB) Mrs. Hellen Mukakalisa Kataratambi has asked the Government for more budget support.
She made this request during a meeting with the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) members on Friday March 5, 2021.
UNMEB documents show that the entity’s budget which includes both Government subventions and collections from nursing candidates rose from Shs 23.4 Billion in 2017/18 to 32.4 Billion shillings in the year 2019/20.
Speaking today, Kataratambi pointed out that whereas the entity’s budget for the last three years has risen by almost ten billion, it cannot sufficiently cater for the increasing number of candidates.
“The board has registered a steady growth in the number of candidates from 54,943 students in 2017/18 to 62, 702 in 2019/20. Since the costs associated with examination are number driven, there is a need to match the increase in numbers with resources available to the board on an annual basis if the objectives are to be achieved,” Kataratambi added.
A UNMEB document shows that 54,943 certificate and diploma students drawn from 86 institutions sat for exams in the 2017/18 Financial Year (FY).
Last year, the number of institutions and candidates jumped to 104 and 62,702 respectively.