Submitted by freenet on Tue, 14/09/2010 - 22:29
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By Kemantha Govender
Durban - The KwaZulu-Natal Health Department held a send off event for 15 students who will leave for Cuba next week to study medicine.
The group will spend five years in the Caribbean country at a cost of R101 400 per student per annum.
Health MEC Sibongiseni Dhlomo said the trip was an investment in the province's healthcare system because 144 students so far that have been trained in medicine at Cuban universities have joined the army of medical doctors in KwaZulu-Natal.
Dhlomo also pointed out that candidates for the programme are drawn from under-privileged areas of the country, giving some of the young people an opportunity to realise their dream of practicing medicine.
"As a country, through this programme we are gradually succeeding in addressing scarce medical skills. We are also able to make strides in the retention of medical doctors through bursary allocation and enforcing serving back at mother institutions," said Dhlomo.
The MEC praised Cuba for allowing South Africans to utilise their country's time, expertise and medical resources.
"They unreservedly give our aspirant doctors time, expertise and positive energy to learn in that country and be allowed to come back and practice here in South Africa, where they are needed most," said Dhlomo.
He added: "Unlike first world countries, instead of assisting the developing world with skills, are the ones that poach the doctors and professional health care workers that we have".
The MEC also warned students to be good ambassadors of South Africa and not engage in activities that could cause harm to the historical relationship enjoyed by the two countries.
"We want to strongly caution against the bad-mouthing of the Government of Cuba and its officials. Utilise your time there to enrich yourselves by positively learning different languages, different cultures and different customs," said Dhlomo. - BuaNews
ICD investigates schoolgirl's death
Pretoria - The Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) has launched an investigation into the shooting of 17-year-old schoolgirl, Nontsikelelo Anna Nokela.
According to the ICD, Nokela was shot when a group of learners, who were allegedly disrupting preliminary exams, were making their way to schools in the Free State on Monday, 13 September. The learners crossed paths with three police officers, one of whom was armed with a 9mm pistol. The remaining two policemen had shotguns, the ICD said.
"The learners allegedly started throwing stones at the police officers and the officer with the 9mm pistol fired a warning shot towards the ground, which ricocheted and hit the deceased on the back," the ICD added.
Nokela was taken to hospital in a police vehicle but was declared dead on arrival. The ICD is now investigating a case of murder. No arrests have been made yet.
The first day of preliminary exams was disrupted by the Congress of South African Student Movement (COSAS) in some areas on Monday.
COSAS called on matric learners to boycott prelims, saying learners are ill prepared for the exams after a three-week gap in schooling due to the public service strike. - BuaNews