Mr. William Sebil, the Principal of the Nursing Training College (NTC), Bolgatanga, says management of the College will not compromise on the guidelines in the Ministry of Health (MoH) handbook for health training institutions.
That, he said would ensure well-trained professional nurses were churned out to contribute to healthcare delivery in the country and beyond.
“As a College our mandate is to churn out qualified and competent nurses to give care to all Ghanaians.
“We therefore, cannot churn out unqualified and incompetent products who may pose danger to patients. If we want quality care, then we need competent nurses,” Mr. Sebil said at a matriculation ceremony of Diploma 25 batch of students of the College.
He said the College received a total of 792 applications for the 2021/2022 academic year, and at the end of the admission process, a total of 286 applicants were offered admission.
He said per the MoH handbook, all final year students must pass all examinations to qualify to be registered for the licensure examination conducted by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Ghana (NMC), and the diploma examination by the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
He said despite some “calculated efforts to attract public sympathy” through the media by some disgruntled third year students who did not qualify to be registered, management would never compromise on standards.
“As a College, we work with rules devoid of whims and caprices,” Mr. Sebil said, and indicated that management’s insistence on standards had over the years resulted in the consistent excellent academic performance of students in external examinations.
“For over 10 years, the academic performance of the College has been consistently excellent. In 2020, we had 89.4 percent in the licensure examination and 100 percent in the KNUST examination,” he said.
Mr. Sebil said in 2021, performance in the licensure examination increased to 97.9 percent with 100 percent performance in the KNUST examination and three distinctions, adding that there was improvement in 2022, from 97.9 percent to 98.7 percent with 100 percent KNUST pass and 16 distinctions.
The Principal attributed the achievements to the teaching and non-teaching staff of the College, saying “These achievements are by the efforts of tutors and all staff.”
He cautioned the fresh students against unsatisfactory academic performance and misconduct which could lead to their withdrawal from the College even though they were matriculated, “This means that you have to be of good behaviour at all times and work diligently at your studies.”
Mr. Stephen Yakubu, the Upper East Regional Minister, assured the students that government would continue keep up with its promise to pay their allowances monthly to ensure they were comfortable to concentrate on their studies.
“Do not fail your exams and come to me to intervene on your behalf. Learn, so that you can come out as good ambassadors of the College and the Region,” Mr. Yakubu told the students.
The Regional Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer, Mr. Bernard Anankor, expressed concern about the mode of dressing of some nurses and midwives, saying some of them did not dress according to the professional dress code.
He called for change of attitude to portray the true standards and the professional dress code of the nursing and midwifery profession, and reminded nurses in the Region about the professionalism, hardworking and diligence displayed by Florence Nightingale, the ‘mother of nursing.’
