Govt begins paying allowances to trainee nurses
The government has started paying abated nurses trainee allowances to nursing students across the country.
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The allowances are to serve as a stop-gap measure to the introduction of the Students Loan Scheme in the various nursing training colleges.
A statement issued by the Head of Public Relations of the Ministry of Health, Mr Tony Goodman, said the untaxed amount was GH¢150 per student for three months, making a total of GH¢450 per student.
It said the nursing training colleges had begun paying the allowances through the finance offices of the various colleges.
According to the statement, the allowances were recommended by a technical committee set up by President John Dramani Mahama to review the nursing trainee allowance policy.
“The payment as mentioned earlier is to serve as a bridging mechanism pending the amendment of the Students Loan Trust Act, to enable students in non-tertiary health training institutions to access loans”, it said.
The statement asked accountants in the nursing training colleges to pay the amount in full without any deductions, and warned that any person found doing otherwise would be dealt with.
“The Ministry of Health will continue to seek the outmost interest of our trainee nurses”, it said.
Directive ‘flouted’
Meanwhile, a statement issued last Thursday and signed by the Minister of Health, Mr Alex Segbefia, said the ministry had learnt with dismay how the Head of the Accounts Unit of the Kumasi Nursing and Midwifery Training College, Mr Bismark Duadua Mahama, had gone contrary to the directive to pay the untaxed allowances to the students.
“Information reaching us is that you flouted our directive and decided to pay the students in your school GH¢360 per student,” it said.
The minister, therefore, asked Mr Mahama to step aside for further investigations into the matter.
“In view of the above, you are directed to hand over the management of the accounts unit to your assistant so as to enable us to carry out full investigations into the allegation,” it said.