RTC Executive Management Committee members brainstorm on institution upgrade and student enrolment improvement
Executive Management Committee members of the Regional Training Centre for Excellence RTC) Mutengene have discussed necessary strategies to be put in place in order to enhance the institution’s academic facilities and its human resources in a bid to boost student enrolment for the institution during the upcoming academic year come September 2019.
Discussions to this effect took place during a two-day Management Committee meeting in Mutengene on the 7th and 8th of June, 2019. This meeting was the first after the appointment of the new Academic Dean Dr Chimoun Francois and Registrar Ms Jam Nsang Helga of the institution. Top on the agenda were issues relating to its financial situation, academic affairs, a marketing plan against the next academic year, facility needs, Information and Communication Technology, the library, Goals, and Budgets amongst others.
The RTC it should be noted has trained and graduated 31 students in diploma courses. These include 7 with a diploma in Pediatric Palliative Care, 8 with a Diploma in Community HIV Management and 16 with Diploma in Health and Social systems Management, since its inception. Other disciplines offered in the school include Medical Records, Public Health, Human Nutrition and Clinical Dietetics, and Counseling.
It is worth noting that the meeting was planned to coincide with the taught week for the students who are currently undergoing a course in Human Nutrition and Clinical Dietetics. This provided a forum to liaise with the students and better understand their needs. Addressing these needs was one of the lecturers from Mildmay Institute of Health Sciences Uganda Fred Kigozi and other academic and administrative staff members including the Academic Coordinator Mr. Nkuoh Godlove, the Dean of Studies Dr. Francois Chimoun, and the Registrar Mme Jam.
Talking to the CBCHS Press at the end of the week, students expressed their general satisfaction with the training they are receiving and glad about the work of their lecturers. “The program is very impacting. The lecturers are so friendly and so knowledgeable because they let the students know what is important. It’s a practical program and the lecturers are so concerned about the practical part of it. With the training I have got, I look forward to being an entrepreneur of my own” says Blaise.
“This course is so beneficial to me. With this course I have been able to understand more as far as Nutrition is concerned and how I can relate well with the society and tell people more about Nutrition and also how to plan diet very well. It has been a good experience. I call on others to register and get the knowledge as well. I foresee my future to be bright and great. I believe God will make me meet many people out there and their lives will not be the same because what we eat is very important”, opines Claudia, proprietor of a Dietetic Restaurant based in Yaounde.
To Tala Mercy a Biology and Food Sciences teacher by profession, “I decided to come to the Regional Training Cente, Mutengene to do Clinical Dietetics. I am fulfilled to have taken this decision. Here the topics are taught in detail. When I go back to the High school where I teach, I will handle the topics perfectly. Secondly, I have had the opportunity to go and work in the Hospital and I will perfectly fit as a Clinical Dietician in any hospital. From these studies, I have had the opportunity of learning about those who deal with disease and food in the community. If I am exposed to work in the community with
children, pregnant women and elderly people, I will be able to fit because we are trained in all these areas. I am currently working to start an NGO for the elderly, thanks to the training I received here”.
Mercy has made herself an ambassador in her community, and an educator out of the classroom. This student output ties with the expectations of their lecturers, one of them Fred Kigozi: “My mission to Cameroon is to ensure that each of the students become leaders in health professional development. The students I have met here are such a brilliant lot being a people who are in active duty and take time off to come and improve their learning. This shows the future of Africa in developing what we have and becoming better people to serve the communities where we already are. I believe there is going to be such a tremendous change. They have shown a lot of enthusiasm. The skills they have got, the performance is going to greatly increase. I have a student who is selling food and she is ready to go back and turn her business around. In short, whoever we have met whether in the hospital or the community when they go back they leave a lasting impact”. Fred is a holder of a Bachelor’s Degree in nursing and a Masters in Dietetics and Applied Nutrition.
Therefore, the knowledge gained through the courses offered, expose trainees to career improvement and development. According to Mr. Ngang Paul, Administrator of CBC Health Service Complex and RTC Board member,, most of the graduates have been appointed as Chiefs of centers and their performance is applauded in the institutions where they serve.
The next academic year is open to students in all the courses offered in the school. People across the national territory are challenged to use this singular opportunity of gaining knowledge while at work to upgrade their skills.