Kwapong Nursing Training College bedevilled with inadequate physical infrastructure

The Kwapong Nursing Training College in the Asunafo South District of the Ahafo Region is bedevilled with inadequate physical infrastructure slowing down the progress of the institution.

Mr Kwame Adinkra Amo, the Principal of the College, described the infrastructure situation at the college as “miserable, unfortunate and unacceptable” and called on the government and development partners to as a matter of urgency, come to their aid to make the college to meet the tertiary standard.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), at Kwapong on Tuesday, on the side-lines of the Vice President Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia's visit to the place, Mr Amo said the College was facing the challenge of inadequate lecture halls, staff accommodation and poor sanitary condition.

Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia is embarking on a day's visit to parts of the Ahafo Region and would address a durbar of staff and students of the college.

The Vice President would also address similar durbars at Nkaseim in the Asunafo North Municipality, Acherensua in the Asutifi South District and Derma in the Tano North Municipality.

Mr Amo explained the College was established in 2015, and it had since then not benefited from any physical infrastructure project funded and completed by the state.

He said a two-storey lecture hall being put up by the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) had been abandoned, while work on another lecture hall being constructed by the District Assembly had been at a standstill.

Mr Amo explained that it was the Parent-Teacher Association of the College, which had constructed a two-storey lecture hall, facilitating effective academic work and commended the Association for its continuous support and interventions towards saving the college from collapse.

"As we speak now, students eat in the open space because we don't have a dining hall, standard kitchen and limited sanitary facilities. We spend between GHC6,000 and GHC7,000 every month to pay our 20 casual workers and this is seriously draining our purse" he said and appealed to the government to give the College financial clearance.

"We don't have enough buildings here in Kwapong to accommodate staff and even most of the few houses don't have household toilets. In fact, the situation here is extremely miserable and if the government do not intervene, the unexpected could happen".

Mr Amo said because the college was not walled and had no gate, poor security remained another daunting challenge, and commended the chiefs and people of Kwapong for their support towards improving the security situation at the College.

He also appealed for a minibus, which would enable lecturers to go round and effectively monitor students who go for practical studies at the Kukuom Government Hospital.

Despite these myriads of challenges, Mr Amo appreciated the academic performance of students which hovered around 90 per cent.

Established five years ago, the College runs a three-year programme in Registered General Nursing and a two-year programme in Registered Nursing Assistant and currently had 470 student population and 43 staff including 19 lecturers and 20 casual workers.