All 438 candidates who sat for the Associate Nursing Programme (ANP) national examinations in the 2024/2025 academic year passed, marking a 100 per cent success rate and tripling the total number of graduates since the programme’s reintroduction in 2021. The system, reintroduced in 2021, allows students who complete Senior Three (S3) to directly join secondary schools offering the nursing program. The first cohort graduated in 2022, with more than 200 nurses already deployed to health facilities across the country facing staff shortages. ALSO READ: Top nursing performer dreams of career in orthopedic surgery Dr. Menelas Nkeshimana, Head of the Department of Health Workforce Development at the Ministry of Health, said the new graduates are expected to ease the shortage of healthcare professionals. “Last year’s cohort successfully passed the council’s exams, and 82 per cent of the 200 graduates joined the labour market to support healthcare delivery. The rest continued with further studies in fields such as medicine, and one of them became a medical investor after using the entrepreneurship skills taught in the programme,” he said. ALSO READ: Number of associate nursing students to reach 1,000 He added that this year’s performance demonstrates the quality of training being provided. “The 100 per cent pass rate shows that students understood the content well and that the education they received was of good quality,” Nkeshimana noted. The graduates are expected to play a role in disease prevention, patient care, health promotion, and rehabilitation. With non-communicable diseases (NCDs) on the rise, their contribution is expected to complement the work of community health workers by providing skills that go beyond community-level care. ALSO READ: Why accounting, nursing and teaching students have to take practical exams The graduates are scheduled to sit for the National Council of Nurses and Midwives exams in October, according to the Council’s Registrar, Innocent Kagabo. During the 2024/2026 academic year there were 18 schools offering the programme across the country, five of which are privately owned, which are projected to increase to 24 in the 2025/2026 academic year, according to the Ministry of Health. The associate nursing program was launched through a collaboration between the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education, as part of the government’s plans to increase the number of healthcare workers in proportion to the population, and ensure the healthcare professionals grow up within the profession. The programme is also expected to support the 4x4 Program, a national initiative that aims to quadruple the number of healthcare workers in four years. As of December 2023, Rwanda had close to 28,000 healthcare workers. Nearly 15,000 of them were nurses, over 2,000 midwives, about 7,000 allied health professionals. The country had about 700 specialist doctors. Top performing students share success stories At Collège Adventiste Gitwe in Ruhango District, where two students ranked among the top nationwide, the principal Gilbert Nshimiyimana credited success to practical training with essential tools like mannequins despite their high cost. “Our teachers, many of whom are healthcare professionals, made a big difference. Parents also supported us by contributing during holidays when students stayed at school for extra learning. The students themselves sacrificed part of the holiday season, which paid off,” he said. Raban Gitangaza, a 23-year-old student from G.S. Gahini in Kayonza District, who has emerged as the top performer in the Associate Nursing Program said that the program came with challenges like longer school hours, more subjects, and limited equipment in the simulation lab. “We started at 7:45am, an hour earlier than other students who began at 8:45am, and we had a heavier workload. Even on weekends, we met to study and revise. It required a lot of discipline and patience,” he said.
