- Islamic Nursing Training School inaugurated
Government has said it will continue to invest in the area of health, especially the training of healthcare workers as well as provision of infrastructure, as part of its commitment to transform the health sector.
To this end, Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia also said government will continue to partner and support private health training institutions in the country to complement ongoing efforts.
Speaking at the Islamic Nursing Training School’s (INTS) inauguration in Accra, he said as a private, non-profit tertiary educational institution, operating it is a unique and noble initiative.
Furthermore, he acknowledged that its timely establishment will complement government’s developmental agenda for the Zongos and inner cities, especially in the areas of health and education.
“It will not only open enrolment opportunities for young people in the Zongos and inner cities, but also add to the about-90 public health training institutions in the country,” he stated.
Despite the number of nursing training institutions across the country, they are inadequate to meet the growing admission demands of SHS graduates.
He observed that Free Senior High School (FSHS) programme’s success means the number of applicants who seek admission into health training institutions are also increasing.
However, he said, many of those who qualify do not get admission due to the limited capacity of the public health training institutions.
He acknowledged that the private sector, especially faith-based organisations, have played leading roles in complementing government’s efforts at expanding access to nursing training by establishing nursing schools.
Currently, there are 39 private training nursing schools – and 15 of such institutions are faith-based Christian training institutions.
He therefore said the Islamic Nursing Training School is a welcome addition to these schools, and it will offer more admission opportunities to young Ghanaians aspiring to be nurses.
According to the Vice President, government as part of its Zongo development vision sponsored 40 students from some Zongo communities to study medicine in Cuba. They are expected to come and offer services to special needs patients in the Zongo communities and Ghana at large.
Also, he said, the Zongo Development Fund under its tertiary education grant has over the period financed many brilliant students within the Zongo communities, with many of them being nursing trainees.
The Board Chairman of the Islamic Nursing Training School (INTS), Dr. Samuel Akortey, noted that the school was born out of a need to build the human capacity of youth in the Muslim Zongo communities.
“This has been a long-time dream of the school’s founder, realising that there is limited technical and professional capacity within the Zongo communities.”
This, he said, has resulted in the majority of people in these communities finding themselves low on the social ladder.
With the flagship education initiative, the Free Senior High School (FSHS) policy, he envisaged that a lot more of the Muslim youth are expected to come out with the requisite qualifications to pursue higher studies.
Given this, he indicated that the establishment of INTS will add to the list of institutions for higher studies available to senior high school graduates, especially those aspiring to be nurses.
Additionally, he said the coming of INTS will help to address the gap in training of nurses while creating a platform that provides tailor-made training for Muslim students.
He also gave assurance that all aspects of nursing professionalism and ethics will be keenly observed.
