A total of 506 students have been admitted into the Seventh Day Adventist Nursing and Midwifery Training College at Kwadaso in Kumasi to pursue nursing and midwifery programmes for the 2022/2023 academic year.
Two hundred and seventy nine out of 342 females nursing students, while 62 are males, with the remaining 165 pursing midwifery.
The new entrants bring the total student population of the College to 2,140 spread over the two campuses at Kwadaso (810 being third year nursing and midwifery students), and 1,330 first and second year students at the Barekese campus (Baryland).
They have, since last Friday, been matriculated, which occasion marked the 18th matriculation for nurse trainees and 9th matriculation for midwife trainees.
Last Friday’s matriculation was under the theme: “Brain Drain of Nurses and Midwives: The contributing factors, effects and the way forward.”
The Principal of the College, Mr. Daniel Attah-Tuffour, said the theme called for strategies to invest in the training of nurses and midwives to take care of the health needs of Ghanaians.
He noted that the economic growth and development largely depended on the quality and number of nurses who formed 50% of the 27 million health workforce globally, and called on the government to consider investing in the training of nurses and midwives.
The Principal also appealed to the government to assist the College with adequate infrastructure at the Barekese campus under the Ghana Educational Trust Fund (GETFund).
Principal Attah-Tuffour commended the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) for its role in providing support for the growth and development of the College and welfare of students.
He said the Association had, over the last nine years, provided the College with a Toyota Hillux, Toyota Coaster 33-seater bus, 80 capacity hostel, and a seven flats apartments for staff, besides purchasing 200 sets of tables and chairs, and a classroom expansion project at GH¢300,000.
Mr. Tuffour also commended the staff for ensuring high standards and performance by the students, evidenced in 100% and 99% pass rates for nursing and midwifery students respectively in the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) terminal examination, and producing the Overall Best Graduating Students t for KNUST diploma in nursing and midwifery for the country in 2021.
Dr. James Antwi, Director of the Ghana Adventist Health Services (GAHS), commended the Board and management of the College for the successes chalked by the College in its 18 years.
