Question NW3712 to the Minister of Health
28 October 2022 - NW3712
Ismail, Ms H to ask the Minister of Health
(1)What total number of students (a) have been enrolled, (b) have graduated, (c) have been employed by his department and (d) are currently still employed by his department since the inception of the Nelson Mandela Fidel Castro Medical Collaboration programme; (2) what (a) are the reasons for the termination of employment and (b) amount has the termination of employment cost his department since the inception of the specified programme; (3) whether he will furnish Ms H Ismail with a breakdown of all expenses since the inception of the programme; if not, why not; if so, what (a) are the relevant details and (b) amounts are still outstanding?
Reply:
1. (a) There are 3369 students recruited to the programme since inception.
b) A total of 2617 has graduated from the Programme.
c) The total of 2 617 students mentioned in (b) above, after completion of their integration in South African local universities are/were allocated to various health facilities for a two-year medical internship and then proceed to fulfil a one-year Community Service Programme in rural and underserved areas.
d) The National Department of Health has requested the numbers that are currently still employed form Provincial Departments of Health, since the PERSAL System does not have a functionality that provides such granular data since inception of the Nelson Mandela Fidel Castro Programme.
2. (a) The doctors from the Nelson Mandela Fidel Castro Programme assume appointment to the department as qualified medical doctors like any other doctor trained in South Africa, this also include termination of employment. The termination of duty is therefore based on grounds that are deemed necessary for termination in terms of the scope of practice of medical doctors or it may be voluntary as is the case with any other employee.
(b) This cannot be quantified specifically for the Nelson Mandela Fidel Castro Medical doctors.
(3) (a) Costs incurred when students in Cuba
The following are average costs incurred and are fixed cost per student per year, depending on the Rand/Dollar Exchange Rate at the time of transfer, is reflected below:
- Preparatory (one year) : $2000.00 per students
- 1st – 5th Year (per student) : $5000.00
- Stipend (per student per year) : $2400.00
- Additional costs include two return flight tickets during six years and additional flight ticket in case of death of immediate family member. The tickets cannot be costed as it also depends on the Rand/Dollar Exchange at the time.
|
Level |
Tuition Fees |
Meals & Acc. |
Ave. cost Med. Ins. |
Stipend |
TOTAL |
|
Preparatory |
$6000.00 |
$6022 |
$450 |
$2400.00 |
$14, 872.00 |
|
1st – 2nd Year |
$12, 500 |
$6022 |
$500 |
$2400.00 |
$21, 422.00 |
|
3rd – 4th Year |
$11, 500 |
$6022 |
$500 |
$2400.00 |
$20, 422.00 |
|
5th Year |
$13, 500 |
$6022 |
$600 |
$2400.00 |
$22, 522.00 |
b) Costs incurred for integration in the local Universities
Tuition fees charged by South African universities during the integration since inception until 2018 varied from one university to another. After the agreement signed with local universities, the cost of integration per student has been standardised since July 2018 and adjusted according to annual Consumer Price Index. Students have all to be in the clinical training platform for 18 months which translates into three (3) semesters. Additional costs include transportation of the final year students to local universities which depends on the mode of transport and distance to the university.
The following are the average costs incurred in South Africa:
- July 2018 – June 2019 : R231 325.00 per student (R115 662.50 per semester).
- July 2019 – June 2020 : R241 734.63 per student (R120 867.31 per semester).
- July 2020 – June 2021 : R252 612.68 per student (R126 306.34 per semester).
- July 2021 – June 2022 : R260 696.28 per student (R130 348.14 per semester).
- July 2022 – June 2023 : R277 641.54 per student (R138 820.77 per semester).
Amount outstanding are not readily available for both Cuba and local Universities as we are in a process of receiving and paying invoices for the 2021 to 2022 financial year for Cuba, and 2022/ 2023 Financial year for local Universities.
END.