In a sweeping move to overhaul the quality of technical health education, Angola’s government has imposed a five-year moratorium on new student enrolments at institutes offering nursing and clinical analysis programmes across multiple provinces.
The directive, issued through Joint Decree No. 1/2025 by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health, mandates the immediate suspension of student intake for the 2025/2026 academic year.
Institutions affected are also required to phase out the courses over time, allowing currently enrolled students to complete their training before full discontinuation.
Signed by Education Minister Luísa Grilo and Health Minister Sílvia Lutukuta, the decree targets technical health institutes operating either without proper licenses or with licenses that have expired.
The goal, the decree states, is to “guarantee the quality of the teaching and learning process of technical-professional training, organize the emergence of private institutions for training technicians in the health area, guarantee assistance and health care to the population, in a differentiated, equitable and humanized way, as well as adapt the development of Human Resources in Health.”
The measure spans both public and private institutions, including public-private partnerships, and applies in the provinces of Bengo, Benguela, Cuanza Sul, Huambo, Huíla, Icolo e Bengo, Luanda, Malange, Namibe, and Uíge.
While the decision has sparked concern among students and educators, authorities insist the moratorium is necessary to restructure the system and uphold healthcare standards in the long term.
The move is seen as a bid to regulate the rapid growth of under-supervised private institutes and ensure graduates are adequately trained to meet national health care needs.
Institutes are now under pressure to align with updated licensing protocols and revised educational criteria before any future reauthorization can occur.
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