At the end of January, the University Medical Faculty told those medical students who joined the nine day doctors’ strike, organised by the Mozambican Medical Association (AMM) that they had failed part of their course and will have to take it again.
The faculty’s move to punish the strikers seemed to be in flagrant violation of the agreement between the AMM and the government, signed on 15 January, which ended the strike.
Part of this deal was that the Ministry would send a circular to all public sector health units giving instructions that no administrative measures were to be taken against those doctors and student doctors who did not present themselves for work during the strike.
The faculty decision concerned those sixth year medical students who work as interns at Maputo Central Hospital during the practical part of their course. All those who failed to show up during the strike are now deemed to have failed that part of the course, and must repeat it.
The AAM regarded these sanctions as a violating of the agreement between the Association and the government.
For a month the University leadership remained deaf to all protests – but on Friday the UEM spokesperson Joel Tembe called a press conference justifying the university’s sanctions, and accusing the striking students of “academic non-compliance” including “insurbordination against appeals and legal instructions”, lack of discipline and lack of respect for the academic authorities.
He claimed that the sanctions against the students were taken by the director of the Medical Faculty, after a great deal of thought – and were moderate, because given the supposed seriousness of the matter the students could all have been expelled.
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