The University of Namibia’s School of Medicine can take in only 80 new students in a year, the school’s associate dean, Fillemon Amaambo, said on Monday.
Amaambo said this was a decision taken by the regulatory authority to ensure quality learning and training at the school.
“The decision to admit 80 students per intake, including repeaters, was taken [while] taking into account the number of facilitators available and resources at the university,” Amaambo said.
He added that the School of Medicine received about 2 000 applications for this year’s intake.
“If anyone has a way to select 80 out of 2 000 applicants, including repeaters, without leaving anyone out, especially those who meet requirements, please share the secret with us,” Amaambo said.
He made the remarks after a Twitter account was created and used to claim that the School of Medicine’s admission process is corrupt.
According to tweets on the account, the school admits students with prominent surnames while most do not meet entry requirements.
One tweet in particular said a student with a prominent surname was admitted while not meeting the requirement of scoring 35 points in five subjects, as she allegedly had only 32 points.
This, however, is all speculation according to Amaambo, as no evidence of this accusation was provided and the name of the student in question was not provided.
Amaambo said: “We are requesting that the person that created this account take their facts to the Anti-Corruption Commission, so that a transparent investigation is run on the issue.”
The university’s admission criteria also takes into account marginalised students, as they should be given priority, Amaambo said.
In addition, the university not only takes in local students, but international students also apply and are considered for admission when they meet the requirements. “Even though it is not a large number we do take in international students as well,” Amaambo said.
The School of Medicine’s graduates are trained in accredited hospitals in the country, including state and private facilities.