Question NW1521 to the Minister of Health
02 June 2023 - NW1521
Clarke, Ms M to ask the Minister of Health
What (a) total number of foreign educated and trained persons in the medical field, by category of medical profession, who either return or come to the Republic seeking to become registered and/or employed within the public health service, (i) have applied to write the required examinations to become qualified and (ii) were rejected and (b) were the reasons for such rejection in the (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022 academic years?
Reply:
a) The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA)’s Registrar has informed the Minister that –
(i) 382 foreign-qualified persons applied for registration as medical practitioners;
(ii) 5 foreign-qualified persons’ applications were rejected during the period 2020, 2021 and 2022.
As per table below:
|
Year |
Number applied and accepted |
Number applied and rejected |
Total |
|
2020 |
116 |
0 |
116 |
|
2021 |
83 |
5 |
88 |
|
2022 |
178 |
0 |
178 |
|
Total |
377 |
5 |
382 |
(b) (i) In 2020 – None were rejected;
(ii) In 2021 – 5 were rejected, because upon assessment, it was found that the universities where the 5 applicants studied did not meet the standard to be either equivalent or satisfactory compared to the South African standard for registrability;
(iii) 2022 – None were rejected.
END.