Medical bodies sue Gideon Robert University over alleged unaccredited medicine degree

Two of Zambia’s leading medical associations have taken Gideon Robert University to the Lusaka High Court, seeking to stop it from offering its Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBChB) programme, which they claim is running without mandatory accreditation.

The Zambia Medical Association (ZMA) and the Resident Doctors Association of Zambia (RDA) sued the university alongside the Higher Education Authority (HEA), arguing that the Health Professions Council of Zambia’s (HPCZ) approval is a legal prerequisite before any medical programme can be accredited and taught.

In their statement of claim, ZMA president Kaumba Tolopu and RDA president Paul Chibwe said their organisations were mandated to safeguard public health by ensuring medical training met national standards.

They alleged that Gideon Robert University began offering the MBChB degree around 2019 or 2020 without HPCZ approval, leaving graduates unable to obtain certification as doctors.

The two associations told the court they had received numerous complaints from affected students and other stakeholders over the programme’s inadequacy and lack of accreditation.

They said the HPCZ had confirmed it had never approved the course, yet the HEA had failed to suspend or revoke the university’s accreditation despite its legal mandate.

As a result, graduates from the disputed programme have reportedly been denied index numbers required for registration as medical practitioners, barring them from the mandatory hospital attachments needed to complete their training.

The associations want the court to declare the programme illegal, null, and void, and to grant an injunction stopping the university from offering it until the matter is determined.

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