KUWAIT CITY, Aug 14: Former director of the Center for Medical Sciences at Kuwait University Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan said the decline in the number of admissions to medical colleges this year was disappointing, reports Al-Qabas daily. He stressed that the increase in the number of students in high school must be matched by the provision of education opportunities that are compatible with these numbers and commensurate with the needs of the development plan.

In a press statement, Dr. Al-Hunayan said the Medical Sciences Center is planning to double the number of admissions in the faculties of medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy. He highlighted a tendency to open the nursing department as well in order to meet the needs of the ambitious development plan in building and constructing new hospitals and health buildings. Dr. Al-Hunayan revealed that the plan aimed at a gradual increase in the number of seats in medical colleges, adding that the admission process started last year. He indicated that the goal was to reach 300 admission seats in the College of Medicine, 120 in dentistry and 250 in pharmacy, affirming that the teaching staff is available for these numbers, and only thing that remains is to provide classrooms with the cooperation of Abdullah Al-Salem University by making use of the old buildings of Kuwait University.

Dr. Al-Hunyaan said, “More than 40 years have passed since the Faculty of Medicine accepted the first batch. The numbers of accepted students are still low due to which we must start planning to gradually increase these numbers to reach the required numbers that we aspire to. One of the old buildings of Kuwait University colleges can be used to teach the four-year lectures of basic medical sciences. The buildings of the medical colleges in Jabriya can be used for clinical teaching. If planning is not done from now on, the university will not be able to provide the needs of the medical labor market in the country.” In addition, Dr. Al-Hunayan stated that the file of harmonizing the outputs of higher education with the needs of the labor market needs to be sifted, especially in the field of medical specialties due to the country’s urgent need for the outputs of these specializations. He stressed the importance of hiring Kuwait University’s medical graduates in local hospitals, as they graduate with full knowledge of the local medical environment, insisting that the medical body is in dire need of Kuwaiti cadres.