Choosing the right course to study is one guarantee that one will be able to compete favorably in the labour market, according to President Yoweri Museveni.
President Museveni has called on parents to encourage and guide their children to focus on courses that are competitive on the labour market locally and globally.
The President was on Monday speaking celebrations to mark 60 years of the Jinja School of Nursing and Midwifery (JSNM) in Jinja district.
“Here you are in the right place, the right time and in the right course. This is because we are not in the theatre of plays but we live in the real life. If you select the wrong course you will miss out on the labour market which is very particular,” he said.
Over 396 students from various countries including Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and South Sudan graduated in different disciplines including diplomas in comprehensive nursing, diplomas in midwifery, diplomas in nursing, and diplomas in pediatric nursing as well as certificates in comprehensive nursing.
The President said that he has always advocated for the teaching of nursing just like other science disciplines because they provide answers to the real human needs.
He commended them for choosing the right profession which is in line with “real human life” and assurance that they will not be unemployed.
Museveni advised the graduate nurses to exhibit the highest level of professionalism and improve the image of nurses that has been tainted with increased reports of nurse mishandling patients in conducting their duties in Uganda.
“In the nurses anthem, they say they are holy people, chosen by God, but where do the ones who behave badly in hospitals come from? That when a pregnant woman is in pain, they tell her to call the one responsible for the pregnancy. Having heard this anthem, am sure we are going to have really holy nurses,” he said.
The President said that government would engage all the stakeholders as well as the ministries of education and health to decide which ministry should be entrusted with the supervision of nurses to ensure that the nurses and midwives Uganda is producing are the best in the world.
