Medical School Shuts 5 Departments

The Monitor (Addis Ababa), August 30, 2000

By Our Staff Writer

Addis Ababa

The 46 year-old Gondar Medical Science College has disclosed that it has lost-in the last three years alone-25 specialists and general practitioners to private clinics and foreign employers. Speaking to the Ethiopian News Agency over the weekend, the college's Assistant Dean said the medical school now has only 90 instructors left-40% less of its requirement.

Moreover, the exodus of the medical personnel has forced the college to close down 5 departments. This year alone, the dean was quoted as saying, two assistant professors, one associate professor, two lecturers and two technical assistants have left the medical school while one of the last two gynecologists of the college has recently tendered his resignation.

Although the medical school provides incentives to the doctors, the dean said, the higher pay offered at private clinics, the trend of getting employment in other African countries as well as the distance from the capital have been the major causes of the migration. Providing residence, giving financial assistance for their researches and facilitating scholarships have been the incentives given to the doctors, said the dean.

Gondar Medical Science College has now 7 departments that give medical training to doctors and nurses. The medical school, according to ENA has produced 4,419 medical personnel during its 46 years of existence.