KNUST collaborates with MoH to run degree programmes this year
The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, has selected 16 health training institutions to run top-up first degree programmes in Community Health, General Nursing Midwifery and Environmental Health this year.
Advertisement
The names of the selected institutions have not been made public but the upgrading programme forms part of KNUST’s strategic advanced plan to nurture the institutions with the support of the government through the Ministry of Health, the Ghana Health Service and the Health Training Institutions Council.
Occasion
The outgoing Vice-Chancellor of KNUST, Professor William Otoo-Ellis, announced this at the third graduation ceremony for the Ministry of Health training institutions in Kumasi.
In all, 3,167 people from 27 different health training institutions, including nursing training colleges, were awarded diplomas.
Prof. Otoo-Ellis said besides the selected 16 institutions, a team of experts had visited all health training institutions, under its centre of excellence initiative to run top-up programmes to assess them in terms of their preparation and readiness.
Among the criteria are staff strength and quality, student to staff ratio, infrastructure, including staff accommodation, teaching and learning materials, including ICT.
Career development
Prof. Otoo-Ellis stated that with the constant changes in the health sector as a result of new disease conditions and treatment modes, there was the need for continued professional development programmes in order to face these changes.
“This is to help you become abreast of state-of-the-art procedures to put you in a better stead to serve your clients in a more efficient and effective way,” he said.
Attitudes
The outgoing Vice-Chancellor indicated that there had been discourse on the attitude of some of the country’s healthcare providers and the way some of them treated their clients.
He urged the graduands to give a new face to the profession by showing care and compassion, to clients and patients.
The KNUST alliance with health training institutions started with the formal signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on February 5, 2014 with the Ministry of Health.
The agreement gave the university the mandate to mentor all health training institutions in the country.