THE Government has suspended sending students to Cuba to study medicine.
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS) Dr Tenneth Dalipanda revealed this to the Solomon Star on Friday.
He said the decision was based on the fact that medical students who graduated from Cuba are still undergoing training at the National Referral Hospital.
Dr Dalipanda however, explained the decision does not affect those who will be studying other medical-related fields.
“The decision only applies to the field of medicine,” he explained.
“For now, we will have to train the Cuban graduates to a certain standard before we could reconsider sending students there to study medicine in the future,” Dr Dalipanda added.
Chair of the Parliamentary Education & Human Resources Committee, Nestor Ghiro earlier told the Solomon Star those who graduated in Cuba are not medical doctors until they complete certain stages of trainings in the country to qualify them as doctors.
He said the graduates cannot be called doctors until they complete their in-country training.
The government has been sending hundreds of students to Cuba in recent years to study medicine and other fields.
Cuba, which has one of the best health care systems in the world, meets our students tuition while the government covers airfares and students’ living expenses in Cuba.
Many have since graduated while others are still continuing.
The country also has a diplomatic mission in Havana, currently manned by Simeon Bouro.
By AATAI JOHN
