The
Health Assistant Training School at Kokofu in the Bekwai Municipality of
Ashanti region has decried its poor state of infrastructure, which authorities
say impedes efforts at providing quality nursing education.
Principal,
Madam Hagar
Agyir–Binn, says the school has plans to add up Geriatric Nursing program that
caters for the needs of the aged, but this program cannot take off, due to lack
of infrastructure.
She
spoke to Luv News at the School’s 6th Matriculation and 5th Anniversary event
under the theme: “Announcing Our Existence”.
One
hundred and twenty students, comprising 88 females and 32 males, were matriculated.
According
to Madam
Agyir-Binn, the school has seen very little improvement in infrastructure in
its five years of existence.
“The
road leading from Kokofu town to the school has been worst as the years pass by,
in raining seasons, it gets flooded and the flood habours pythons which make it
dangerous to access the road to the school. Sometimes some staff have to be
carried at the back of some village folks in order to cross the flood to work”,
she lamented.
She
has appealed to the Ministry of Health to make good a promise to construct
model classroom and administration block to address the challenges of inadequate
classrooms, lack of administrative block, accommodation for tutors, ICT
facility and lack of demonstration room.
A lecturer
at the School, Mrs.
Comfort Asare explained that students and staff have had to make sacrifices to excel academically,
especially when practical demonstrations have to be held in open air.
“Imagine teaching students or
demonstrating things in the open air under a very hot sun for two to four
hours; it’s very important in nursing that we teach our students through the
demonstration method, especially the basic nursing aspect, but we don’t have
demonstration room, it’s not there!” she complained.
The
Principal however stated that in the face of all the challenges, Kokofu HATS performs
creditably in the licensure exams.
“After
the poor performance in our first licensure examination that was 11% pass, the
School has constantly been performing very well in the subsequent licensure examinations:
2010 – 91.4%, 2011 – 76.6% and 2012 – 75.5% pass in the second, third and fourth
batches respectively. This year we were the fourth best school in the licensure
examination in the whole country”,
Madam
Agyir-Binn disclosed.
The
Chief Nursing Officer of the Ghana Health Service, George Kumi Kyeremeh,
commended the School authority for its innovations to raise standards in the
School.
“My office
will continue to collaborate with all the key stakeholders and represent your
interest at the highest level”, he assured.
Mr.
Kyeremeh observed that health professionals would not be able to complete the
healing process if their acquired knowledge and skills and not backed with
compassion for patients.
Story
by Kofi Adu Domfeh
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