They consist of 407 regis­tered nursing and 227 registered midwifery students who were admitted out of 1,706 applications received by the college for the 2023/2024 academic year.

The new students led by Dr Gwendolyn Mensah, a lecturer at the School of Nursing and Mid­wifery, University of Ghana (UG), Legon, swore the Matriculation Oath administered by the students during the event organised by the College in Accra on Friday.

It was on the theme, ‘Improv­ing Competencies in Nursing and Midwifery Education through Technology.’

The Acting Principal of the NMTC, Major Bright A. Addae, in an address said the college was poised to ensure that the admitted students obtained the “scientific and ethical ground rules” in order to enable them excel in their cho­sen field of study.

He indicated that the excellent performance of the 200 stu­dents who sat for the 2022/2023 Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology final terminal diploma examination, the affiliation of the college to the University of Cape Coast (UCC), is to commence Bachelor of Science (BSc) in nursing and midwifery programmes, and the purchase of a school bus were also some notable achievements.

That notwithstanding, the NMTC Principal observed that the inadequate hostel facilities, lecture halls remained a challenge that is needed to be addressed.

Major Addae, therefore made a passionate appeal to relevant stakeholders and the government to come to the aid of the college in addressing the challenges to create an enabling environment for effective teaching and learning.

The Acting Principal implored the matriculants to devote more time to their studies during their stay in the College, and avoid absenteeism to get the best out of their study tour.

The Special Guest of Honour and Commandant of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), Major General Richard A. Gya­ne, urged them to make good use of the technology, considering its enormous benefits.

“However, be mindful of the wrong use of technology to protect the private information of patients,” he added.

Major General Gyane noted that it was also important for the government to develop policies that would help create an enabling environment and retain qualified healthcare professionals in the country.

Stressing, he said that this would help address the issue of brain drain and emigration of highly trained or qualified Gha­naian from a particular country, a phenomenon which had affected the country’s health sector.

“According to the Ghana Regis­tered Nurses and Midwives Asso­ciation, over 4, 000 nurses have left Ghana to Europe between January and July this year alone. This phenom­enon poses a challenge to the very foundation of our healthcare system”, Major General Gyane said.

“As we invest in the educa­tion and training of these young brains, we must collectively work towards creating an enabling envi­ronment that encourages them to stay and contribute to the growth and enhancement of our health­care system”, he concluded.