Ministry of Health claims scholarships not cancelled

The Ministry of Health has never cancelled any scholarships for specialist training programmes even during uncertain economic situations, said Director General of Health Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

According to Hisham, the total number of scholarshipsfor local Masters programmes have increased from only 450 slots in 2007 to 800 slots for 2011/2012 session and the number continued to rise to 916 slots in 2015.

"In 2016, there are 1,129 slots in the Masters Program with 998 local MedicalOfficers (MO) being offered to go through specialist training," he said while commenting on concerns over the challenges related to skills training program.

Dr Noor Hisham stressed that the ministry will appeal to universities to allow the remaining 131 MO who are not qualified, be given an opportunity for reassessment by their respective universities.

He also added that MO who are not eligible to enter local Masters Program or those who want to opt for postgraduate programs can also do specialists training through parallel routes such as the UK Membership Programmes, in which part of the examination is conducted in Malaysia.