The Minority on the Health Committee in Parliament is calling on the government to immediately withdraw its decision on reserving 30 percent of admissions into nursing training colleges for the Ministry of Health.
At a press conference, it described the situation as a “recipe for unbridled corruption.”
This comes after the Ministry of Health directed the Conference of Heads of Health Training Institutions to stop admitting more than their capacities for the academic year.
The committee attributes the government’s decision to the lack of financial muscle to pay admitted students their nursing and training allowances.
Addressing the media, the Ranking Member on the committee Kwabena Mintah Akandoh says the government’s move promotes corruption and denies eligible persons from being admitted into various nursing schools.
“We see these new directives as an attempt by government to clear a path that makes room for protocol admissions of party apparatchiks, candidates with deep pockets and those who under normal circumstances would not gain admissions.”
He also said the government should be thinking about increasing access to tertiary institutions because of the Free SHS policy.
He warned that “if left unchecked it will be disastrous going into the future considering the current high attrition among health personnel.”
The Minority further called for a review of the nursing trainee allowance policy.
“Information available to us is that principals of Nursing Training Colleges have suggested that government should in the interim consider a hybrid system that admits both allowances receiving and non-allowance receiving students if payment of allowances is becoming a challenge for government,” Mr. Akandoh said.