North West is set to become the beating heart of South Africa’s medical future with the launch of a groundbreaking medical school named in honour of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Speaking at the launch at the Capital on the Park Hotel in Sandton on Tuesday, the North West University’s (NWU) vice-chancellor, Bismark Tyobeka, said the Desmond Tutu Medical School will not be just another academic institution but will be a bold, visionary partner to the health system in the province.
He said the school, which in the future is expected to enroll 600 medical students, will partner with hospitals, schools, and clinics to provide training, support, and expertise.
“Medical students will, through the six years, work throughout the four districts in the province with a strong focus on the JB Marks municipality in the foundation phase.
“Our goal is simple: to strengthen the health system and ensure that quality medical care reaches all corners of the province,” Tyobeka said.
Medical school to open its doors in 2028
The school is expected to allow medical students to conduct house visits, join community outreach teams, and gain experience in the functioning of primary healthcare clinics and community care centres.
Expected to open its doors in 2028, the medical school is said to be a defining chapter of the NWU.
“The establishment of the Desmond Tutu Medical School is not just a creation of another academic entity. It is the birth of a bold, envisioned endeavour inspired by the moral clarity and global humanity of Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
“In his name, we don’t simply commemorate a legacy, but we ignite a movement, one that champions medical innovation and transformative community service.
“This school will train doctors and will also shape custodians of public well-being — individuals who will practice medicine with intellect, integrity, and compassion wherever the need is greatest,” he said.
The Desmond Tutu School of Medicine is also expected to pioneer and have an integrated spiral curriculum valued at 940 credits and spanning over six years aimed at developing medical graduates who are competent and fully aligned with the Health Professions Council of South Africa outcome requirements.
Standard-bearer of ubuntu and excellence
Appreciating the consideration of Desmond Tutu’s name, the acting chairperson of the Tutu Intellectual Property Trust, Dr Mamphele Ramphele, said the day celebrated a giant son of Africa.
“By lending this man’s name to the medical school, we are celebrating this man. How fitting that a man who yearns to become a medical doctor would end up not as a doctor but as the one whose name will live in every graduate of this school,” said Ramphele.
She said Tutu became a strong advocate of black theology.
“Our mandate is to make sure that anybody to whom we lend this name lives by his values and his ideas.
“You, as the medical school, should strive to be the standard-bearer of ubuntu and excellence in all aspects, especially in the care of the most vulnerable.”
The North West University Desmond Tutu School of Medicine will be the 11th medical school in South Africa.
The university said the project was a collaborative effort between the institution, the North West health department, and private sector stakeholders.
The university said one of its main aims is to address the severe shortage of healthcare practitioners in the province while providing a base for the growth of the country’s medical expertise.
