The demonstrating students
STUDENTS OF College of Health, Kintampo, formerly known as Kintampo Rural Health College, yesterday, demonstrated against management and staff of the college and demanded the Ministry of Health to sack them en bloc to pave way for upgrading the college to university status to award degrees.
The students maintained that because most of their lecturers and the principal were not qualified to handle degree programmes; though they have graduated they are refused license to operate as physician assistants formerly known as medical assistant.
The demonstrators mainly made up of immediate past students of the college and level 400 students said their certificates were at risk if the Ministry of Health, the appointing authority does not act quickly to protect their status.
The students holding placards some of which read, ‘Incompetent Management must go, ‘Unqualified Tutors must go’, ‘No accreditation, No examination’, ‘Mr. President please Help Us’ among others, demonstrated at the entrance of the college forcing to enter the campus to register their displeasure but were prevented by the school’s security and the police. They later marched through some principal streets of Kintampo and presented a petition to the Municipal Chief Executive of the area, Michael Sarfo Sarkodie.
The 6 points petition asked the Vice president of the land, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to set up a committee to investigate the academic qualification of all tutors in the school because they believed most of them are teaching without the requisite qualifications. They said many of the unqualified tutors have formed cabals and are fighting against the accreditation of the school to enable them remain in the school because they have failed to upgrade themselves and could lose their jobs if the school gained tertiary status.
The students appealed to the Ghana Medical and Dental Council to license those of them who have completed their degrees (certificates) but are being refused their certificates because they were not taught by qualified lecturers.
Efforts by DAILY GUIDE to speak to the acting principal of the college, Saka Allottey proved futile.
The school was established in 1969 as School of Hygiene to offer certificate courses. It later became Kintampo Rural Health Training School to run diploma courses and is now College of Health, Kintampo to run degree programmes as part of the progression envisioned by the founders. The supposed degree programmes are Physician Assistant, Mental Health, Masters in Clinical Psychiatry and Dental Therapy.
Danielyaodayee@yahoo.com
FROM Daniel Y Dayee, Kintampo