By KT Reporter
The Uganda Health Professionals Assessment Board has wrapped up a rare, calm merger and transition, keeping every staff member and settling its leadership team.
The development contrasts with the disorder hitting most agencies and government departments, the Rationalisation of Government Agencies and Expenditure (RAPEX) reform, where mergers have sparked resistance, uncertainty, and repeated staff complaints.
Speaking to our reporter on condition of anonymity, a staff member at the Kyambogo-based board said that although at first the situation was tense, the transition has gone on well with collaboration between the top management of the merging bodies.
“The atmosphere at first was tense due to uncertainty about the future. There was also some mistrust among staff from both boards, but over time we started working together,” the staffer said.
The source added that among the key factors that could have eased the transition was the assurance that all staff from both boards would retain their jobs after the merger. “That brought relief, and by March we were already working together to prepare the first joint examination,” they noted.
UHPAB was established through the merger of the Uganda Nurses and Midwives Examinations Board (UNMEB) and the Uganda Allied Health Examinations Board (UAHEB). The new body has officially assumed full operations.
Commenting on the merger, Dr Kedrace Turyagyenda, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, confirmed that from her office, she has not encountered any issues regarding this board, unlike the challenges reported in other agencies.
URN understands that the new board, chaired by Dr Alfred Driwale, has appointed Helen Mukakarisa Kataratambi, the former UNMEB executive secretary, as the substantive executive secretary of UHPAB. Joseph Agondua, the former UAHEB executive secretary, has been named deputy in charge of curriculum development.
The Ministry of Public Service has also approved a staffing establishment of 160 positions for the new board. Dr Alfred Driwale has confirmed that all the 79 former employees from the previous boards have been validated and are waiting for their appointment letters.
However, Dr Driwale noted that despite the seamless merger and transition, several tasks remain, as the board works to integrate practices and experiences from the two former agencies. He noted that several harmonisation processes are still underway to create a single unified system from the two boards. This includes aligning candidate assessment fees and standardising the grading system.
“The variance in assessment fees has been discussed, and a proposal is ready for submission to your office for guidance,” the chairperson said. “The Board harmonised the assessment system, assessment frequencies, marking system, rules and regulations, among others. This will lead to harmonised Health TVET Awards and issuance of uniform academic documents.”
Agnes Wadda, the board’s Public Relations Officer, told our reporter that harmonising the assessment and grading systems was the main challenge since the two institutions used different data processes and produced varying reports.
“The report formats differed. One institution used an Alpha grade, while the other used grade points. As a single body, we could not release results under two systems, so we had to standardise,” she said.
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