KMTC partners with Kajiado County to build new campus

The Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) will build a new fully-fledged campus in Kajiado following an agreement between the county government and the government institution.

The new campus will be built within Kajiado Town with the county government having already earmarked land for it within the Kajiado Referral Hospital.

This will be the second medical training college in the county after the one based in Loitokitok.

Kajiado Governor Joseph ole Lenku said that medical students who will be trained at the college will help supplement the efforts of the current workforce in the county’s hospitals in order to reinforce healthcare provision.

STRENGTHEN HEALTHCARE

“I believe this expansion will strengthen the county’s healthcare provision by placing qualified personnel in our healthcare facilities. They will be instrumental in propelling the Big Four agenda of universal health coverage as championed by President Uhuru Kenyatta,” said Mr Lenku on Wednesday.

The governor pledged to allocate sufficient funds towards to improve facilities within the institutions.

This, he said, will be done in conjunction with like-minded investors which will see the county build classrooms and laboratories in the institutions.

“I believe the people of Kajiado will access training at KMTC and ultimately be absorbed in our health institutions as professionals in various medical fields,” he said.

Towards this end, Governor Lenku pointed out that a recruitment desk will be set up at the Kajiado Referral Hospital to cater for locals wishing to join KMTC.

PHYSICAL AMENITIES

On his part, KMTC Board Chairman Philip Kaloki said that they have agreed that the county, among other things, will provide land for building classroom, medical laboratories and other physical amenities that may be required by the students.

He revealed that an admissions office will be set up to ensure equity in admission of students to the institution.

This will ensure that 30 percent of the admissions go to locals, he said.

“During the admission we would like to ensure that we balance processes by considering all wards in the various sub-counties and ensure we recruit locals from Kajiado County,” said Prof Kaloki.

EXPAND CAMPUS

He stated that the KMTC Loitokitok campus will be expanded to accommodate more courses that will ultimately see the students absorbed by the hospitals in their localities for the benefit of the people.

“We are hoping to realign our courses there to have such programmes as nursing care, clinical medicine and medical engineering that will increase training opportunities in line with the universal healthcare coverage in the next four years,” he said.

The construction and expansion of the Kajiado and Loitokitok campuses comes hot on the heels of an elaborate training programme by the Kajiado County government and the KCB Foundation that saw 300 students sponsored to train in skills development, a venture that will see them empowered for self-employment and placement in the upcoming industries in the county.