2 Nursing training colleges to run degree programmes

Beginning next academic year, the Holy Family Nursing and Midwifery Training College in Berekum and the Kumasi Nursing and Midwifery Training College will start running degree programmes in their institutions under the supervision of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

This followed the approval and support from the government through the Ministry of Health to these institutions to run these programmes and formed part of the larger plan of the university to establish centres of excellence to train health workers in the country.

The Vice Chancellor of KNUST, Prof. Kwasi Obiri Danso, who announced this at the first day of the four-day graduation ceremony for the Ministry of Health Training Institutions in Kumasi last Wednesday, said the two training colleges would start running the Bachelor of Science (B Sc) programmes from the 2020-2021 academic year.

Entry requirements

Prof. Obiri Danso said as part of the efforts to afford a lot more health professionals in the country to upgrade themselves, KNUST has revised its admission requirements for BSc in Midwifery, BSc in Community Health Nursing and BSc in Nursing to allow applicants with KNUST Diplomas and passes in KNUST Access Examinations to be enrolled for the degree programmes.

That, according to him, would allow “people who are already healthcare professionals but still unable to obtain a pass in Integrated Science at the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) to still pursue Bachelor degree programmes.”

In all, the university will be graduating a total of 10,546 health nurses. A total of 1,319 were graduated on the first day from eight health training institutions in the country.