The Bolgatanga Nurses Training College (BNTC) in the Upper East Region has demoted 28 first and second-year students for poor academic performance.
Out of 186 first-year students, 18 of them were demoted while 10 out of 97 second-year students were also repeated per the code of conduct in the Students’ Handbook by the Ministry of Health (MoH) for Health Training Institutions.
When the Ghana News Agency (GNA) contacted the Principal of the College, Mr William Sebil, after some parents and guardians raised concerns about the action of the College, he said “As a college, we work with instructions.”
He said after the examination, a committee marked and vetted the results and the 28 students failed.
“Normally, after the semester examination, if students are referred, we give them a second chance and after that, if they don’t pass, then we take action.
“So, these students that we have demoted were given the fair opportunity, but they still did not pass. With the second-year students, who are now in the third-year, we repeated 10, and some of them have had up to 14 referrals after they were given several opportunities to re-write,” Mr Sebil said.
He said due process was followed in demoting the students, adding that it would enable the students to strategize and study well to progress to the next level.
Mr Sebil noted that to achieve the much-desired standards in the nursing profession to save lives across the various health facilities, the guidelines and code of conduct of the MoH must be applied.
“We need to churn out quality health personnel to render services to us.”
“Our doors are always open for any parent who wants information on the performance of students. We do not take pleasure in demoting or referring students, but we cannot relent on our efforts as a college that has produced quality nurses across the country over the decades,” he said.
Mr Mathias Gnansin, the Academic Coordinator of the College, said the number of demotions and referrals were from a whole academic year.
“Some of them are as far back as three semesters. They were given verbal warnings to sit up and study to clear their arrears. So, the students were not just abruptly demoted.”
He noted that some students were slow learners and needed time to catch up with others who were fast learners, saying “We do not rush to churn out nurses who cannot care for patients. I could be a patient one day and will not be comfortable to be nursed by a poorly trained nurse.”
Touching on the process of examination in the College, Mr Gnansin said Tutors usually presented questions for vetting by a team with a marking scheme and approved questions processed, and examinations conducted.
“Shortly after examinations, a conference marking is done with moderators to ensure that proper marking is done, after which there will be an evaluation to ensure that every information a student provides is marked to prevent over-looking of answers.
“When that is done, the results are published as early as possible for students to see their performance, and before school reopens, affected students are given the opportunity to report early to rewrite their papers,” the Academic Coordinator said.
Source: Modern Ghana
Add Comment