Health training institutions have called for a simpler, more coordinated accreditation system to reduce duplication and ease pressure on training programmes.
They say long approval processes, repeated inspections and a shortage of clinical training sites are making it harder to train health professionals.
The concerns were raised on Friday in Windhoek during the parliamentary standing committee on education, youth, civic relations and community development’s consultation into the rapid growth of health training institutions.
University of Namibia (Unam) executive dean for the faculty of health sciences and veterinary medicine Cilas Wilders said the current accreditation system creates unnecessary work because regulators carry out separate assessments.
“We should harmonise accreditation by bringing the Health Professions Council of Namibia (HPCNA) into the existing joint accreditation model.
This would eliminate duplicate self-evaluation reports and unsynchronised review cycles while maintaining quality standards,” Wilders said.
He proposed a register for national health training capacity managed by the Ministry of Health and Social Services, the HPCNA and training institutions to match student numbers with available clinical training sites.
International University of Management (IUM) dean of health sciences Agnes van Dyk raised concerns about repeated accreditation processes.
“There is duplication of roles among the regulatory bodies overseeing higher education institutions. We need a more coordinated system that reduces duplication while maintaining quality standards,” she said.
Van Dyk said regulators should work more closely with training institutions before introducing new policies.
The consultation follows a motion adopted by the National Assembly last November.
The motion was tabled by Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) member of parliament Winnie Moongo in June 2025. It called for a review of the quality of health training, whether programmes meet labour market needs, and the accreditation processes of the Namibia Qualifications Authority (NQA) and HPCNA.
I-Care Health Training Institute executive director Johannes George says accredited institutions should not be blamed for challenges facing the health sector.
“If an institute applies for approval, submits its curriculum as required by regulations and obtains approval from the regulatory body, then that institution cannot be referred to as proliferating because it is duly authorised, approved and accredited to operate,” George says.
He says problems with clinical training sites should not be used to limit student enrolment or close institutions.
Shiramed Medical Institute’s principal tutor, Chani Felix, says regulators often inspect the same issues.
“Most of the issues inspected by the HPCNA are the same ones assessed by the NQA. These inspections should be harmonised and the regulators should share their reports instead of conducting separate assessments,” he says.
He says this would reduce the administrative burden on institutions and allow them to focus on training students.
Compassion College director Johannes Nampweya says new institutions must go through several approval stages before they can start operating.
Nampweya says the process is expensive because institutions must already have buildings, lecturers and students in place before inspections take place.
“The accreditation bodies require us to have facilities, lecturers and students because they interview them during inspections.
At the same time, they advise the public not to register with new institutions until the process is complete.
This places a financial strain on institutions because we have to keep our facilities running without students,” he says.
Atlantic Training Institution director Absalom Seburon says regulators should consult institutions before introducing new rules.
“There has not been proper consultation with the relevant stakeholders. Training institutions should be fully involved before new regulations are introduced,” he says.
