KENYA’S HEALTH MINISTRY DENIES MEDICAL INTERNSHIPSN TO STUDENTS FROM NON-COMPLIANT UNIVERSITIES

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale recently announced that students from selected universities will be denied medical internship placements due to failure to meet professional training standards. Speaking on August 1 during the commissioning of the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) Burnt Forest Campus in Uasin Gishu County, Duale revealed the names of eight universities that failed to comply with the required criteria.

The universities listed for denial of internship placements include Baraton University, Kenyatta University, Daystar University, Kirinyaga University, Kisii University, and Meru University of Science and Technology, among others. Duale emphasized that the Ministry of Health will take firm action, including denying students from these institutions medical licenses and internships. He also singled out Baraton University as “notorious” for its non-compliance.

Duale stressed that the Ministry is committed to maintaining the integrity of the healthcare sector by ensuring that only adequately trained students are allowed to practice. He warned that shortcuts in medical training would no longer be tolerated and urged institutions to adhere to the standards set by regulatory bodies such as the Nursing Council of Kenya. The newly launched KMTC Burnt Forest Campus is seen as a step towards improving access to health education in the region and promoting the equitable distribution of healthcare professionals across the country.

This move follows the earlier revocation of internship placements for 306 BSc Nursing pre-interns from various universities in Kenya. The Ministry discovered that these individuals were not qualified for their assigned placements, as they had not yet graduated at the time of their assignment. The decision is part of an ongoing audit into the 2025/2026 cohort of nursing internship placements. According to a statement from CS Duale, 348 internship offers have already been revoked, with 42 cancellations occurring on July 21, 2025, among a total of 2,098 individuals initially posted on July 1, 2025.