Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Health Training Institutions have organised the 6th graduation ceremonies to confer Diplomas on graduands of the Health Training Institutions. The first virtual graduation ceremony was held due to the restrictions placed on public gatherings to avoid the spread of Covid-19.
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor (Mrs.) Rita Akosua Dickson said that since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, life has certainly not been the same. There are new ways of doing things which includes the way graduation ceremonies are organised. ‘Virtual graduation has become a part of the new normal’, she said.
Professor Mrs. Dickson revealed that the pandemic has affected teaching and the conduct of examinations to the disruption of academic calendars. Higher education institutions have been challenged to adopt and adapt online teaching. KNUST continues to provide leadership in the management of the current situation through its innovations, she added. Professor Mrs. Dickson assured that several measures have been put in place for academic work to continue for students on campus and its affiliate institutions, using a blended mode of delivery.
She said as a University, KNUST refuses to be overwhelmed by the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and would do whatever that is in their power as a University to keep to the tenets of the collaboration that exist between KNUST and the Ministry of Health. She added that KNUST always remembers that it has a charge to keep by upholding the prestigious brand as well as train healthcare personnel for Ghana and beyond. This, we deem critical for our survival in these trying times, she said.
Professor Mrs. Dickson said that through the tireless efforts of KNUST and the Heads of Health Training Institutions, approval has been granted by the Ministry of Health to kick-start the Centres of Excellence Programme (BSc. Top-Up Nursing programmes) at the Kumasi Nursing Training College, Holy Family Nursing and Midwifery Training College, Berekum, and Bolgatanga Midwifery Training College. The programme commenced in these institutions with a total number of 84 diploma holders to pursue degrees in Nursing and Midwifery (Top-Up) programmes under the supervision of KNUST. The programme is run through the sandwich mode and can conveniently be combined with work. She encouraged many to enrol on this programme for a degree in Nursing.
The Vice Chancellor Congratulated the graduating class and hoped that the knowledge they have acquired will positively impact health care delivery in the country especially in these times of the Covid-19 pandemic.
A total number of Ten Thousand, Two Hundred and One (10,201) graduands from 73 Health Training Colleges, which is made up of Community Health Nurses, General Nurses, Midwives, Prosthetics and Orthotics Technologists, Physiotherapy Assistants and Environmental Health Experts graduated.