Just days before new nursing students are due to begin the semester at Lilitha Nursing College in East London, the Eastern Cape health department and labour unions are still scrutinising who should be admitted.
Health department boss Dr Rolene Wagner and labour unions met this week to check the lists of potential students after acting campus principal Nolitha Mhlahlo was axed as chair of the selection committee.
This came after the unions accused Mhlahlo of manipulating the intake process.
At issue are concerns about irregular meetings, intake areas and the way in which students are selected.
Hospersa, Denosa and other stakeholders wanted students to be selected on merit, but Mhlahlo reportedly pushed for random selection.
This led to potentially low-scoring students getting the nod at the expense of higher-scoring students.
The Dispatch previously reported the unions had asked health MEC Nomakhosazana Meth to intervene and investigate the intake.
Social Compact, an external stakeholder representing the local government sphere, has also publicly slammed the intake.
Last week, Mhlahlo was tight-lipped about the allegations against her.
On Wednesday, Wagner attended a meeting with unions and Social Compact.
The meeting resolved that Mhlahlo be removed from chairing the selection committee, and that the recruitment process be verified to determine whether the shortlisted candidates qualified for admission.
On Wednesday, Denosa regional chair Athini Mbulawa said they had tabled all the discrepancies and irregularities followed in the process, and everyone acknowledged the shortcomings.
“Proposals made included that there should be a selection workshop, to be organised in the next financial year, to try to address the irregularities and identify areas to be reviewed.
“Because the process has gone as far as interviews, the unions and Social Compact agreed we would go through a process to verify the interviewed candidates, and if we found any faults or discrepancies in the process, we would consider nullifying the whole process and shortlist once again.”
Social Compact representative Wezile Mgidlana welcomed Mhlahlo’s axing.
“We asked for her to be removed because she was personally too involved in the process.”
Hospersa education and training vice-chair Zoleka Flepisi said they were looking forward to the verification process.
A previous irregularity was that one selection meeting went ahead even though it did not have a quorum, and of the five unions affiliated to Cosatu and Fedusa, only Nehwau had attended.
There has also been unhappiness that the selection process has excluded most catchment areas, against policy.
Provincial health spokesperson Yonela Dekeda confirmed Wagner had met stakeholders at the East London campus.
“After deliberations, all parties recognised their common objective was to have students in class from the beginning of March.
“In addition, parties agreed to sign off on the shortlisted candidates and the panel would take the observers through the process that was followed.”
This step, Dekeda said, would be followed by the successful candidates being informed of their placement and, ultimately, taking up their places next week.
Wagner said she appreciated the goodwill displayed by all parties during the engagement.
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