NAIROBI, Kenya- Members of Parliament are pushing for urgent legal reforms to end a long‑running dispute over the management and student placement process at the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC), lawmakers said on Tuesday.
During a review of the Budget Policy Statement (BPS), the National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Health urged Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale to align policy, funding, and legal frameworks to address the turf battles that have disrupted workforce planning in the health sector.
Committee chairperson and Seme MP James Nyikal said Parliament could no longer tolerate persistent policy inconsistencies affecting the critical health training institution.
“We cannot keep moving back and forth as a country. The question is straightforward: who holds the function and who holds the funding?” he said.
The dispute, which has lasted nearly a decade, stems from overlapping mandates between the Ministries of Health and Education.
Currently, student placement into KMTC courses is handled by the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS), which falls under the Ministry of Education, while admissions oversight is managed by the Ministry of Health through its State Department for Public Health and Professional Standards.
Nyikal argued this dual structure has created confusion, administrative delays and inconsistent policy direction, ultimately affecting staffing outcomes in the health sector.
He noted that an advisory opinion from the Attorney General indicated that KMTC should handle its own admissions, but that the legal framework must be updated to reflect this.
Speaking to MPs, CS Duale described the matter as “politically sensitive and legally complex,” urging legislators to work together on legal reforms.
He said he would seek formal guidance from the Attorney General and engage both the Ministry of Education and the Head of Public Service in Parliament to resolve the impasse.
Beyond the placement dispute, MPs also questioned the training and remuneration of medical registrars in public referral hospitals, including Kenyatta National Hospital and Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, demanding that training slots be aligned strictly to health sector needs rather than financial ability.
Nyikal also called for a dedicated budget line to ensure fair compensation for registrars working long hours, emphasizing that exploitative conditions “are unacceptable and a human rights issue.”
The push for legal amendments highlights growing parliamentary frustration over the lack of clarity in the policy and statutory framework governing Kenya’s largest medical training institution.
