Madam Christiana Amalba, the Principal of the Midwifery Training College in Bolgatanga, says the College denied some qualified applicants admission for lack of hostel accommodation. ‘Large numbers of prospective students apply to this College yearly, and each time, we are faced with the painful decision of having to turn down many applicants who otherwise are well qualified, but due to the challenges of low academic staff and inadequate facilities, most especially accommodation for students.’ She called for support from stakeholders, alumni, entrepreneurs in and outside the Region to help construct hostel facilities to resolve the accommodation challenges of the College. Madam Amalba said this when she addressed the 17th matriculation ceremony of the 2022/2023 academic year of the College. She said out of 792 applicants, comprising 770 direct midwifery applicants and 22 post- Nurse Assistant Clinical (NAC) and Nurse Assistant Preventive (NAP) applicants, the College admitted 200 direct- midwifery and 22 post NAC/NAP. The Principal, encouraged the students to embrace their admission wholeheartedly to achieve their goals on campus. ‘Strive to achieve excellence in all aspects by developing critical thinking skills and have the right balance between your academic and social life,’ she said. ‘For many of you, this is your first exposure of being out of home and having to experience independent live. You, therefore, need to manage your newly gained freedom wisely,’ she advised the students. Mr Stephen Yakubu, the Upper East Regional Minister, expressed concern about the use of mobile phones and computers among students. He said even though mobile phones and computers were useful Information and Communications Technology (ICT) tools for effective teaching and learning, their usefulness depended on how students managed them. Mr Yakubu said ICT tools, especially mobile phones, could be a nuisance and time wasting to them as students if not managed properly., ‘As students, you do not have the luxury to use them for watching movies, but for studies.’ He also encouraged the trainees to use the internet for purposes of research to enhance their studies and skills in the midwifery profession. He noted that some students were obsessed with watching movies instead of studies which most often made them acquire strange values and said some trainees had taken up provocative dressing they copied from movies they watched. ‘This provocative dressing is not part of the qualities of a midwife; hence we expect you to conform to the dress code and ethics of the school,’ the Minister said. Mr Yakubu observed that some midwives after their three-year training, sought postings out of the Region, and told the students to show appreciation to the Region after training, by staying to serve. ‘I challenge you all to be midwives with difference that society would ever have. Let us be the role model that society expects of us,’ the Minister said.
Source: Ghana News Agency
