Adhere to admission quotas or face sanctions- Health Minister warns nursing college principals

The Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has issued a firm warning to principals of nursing and midwifery training colleges to strictly comply with government-approved admission quotas or face punitive sanctions.

Addressing the inauguration of advisory boards for health training institutions in Accra on Tuesday, the minister stressed that adherence to admission limits was non-negotiable, warning that breaches would attract consequences.

“Everybody must strictly adhere to whatever the regulatory agencies will determine, whatever the ministry will determine, so that you don’t give admissions based on your parochial interest,” Mr Akandoh stated.

He explained that admission quotas were carefully determined based on each institution’s capacity, including the number of tutors, faculty strength, and available facilities. Exceeding these limits, he noted, could compromise the quality of training and ultimately affect the calibre of health professionals produced.

The minister revealed that two training institutions had already been suspended for violating admission regulations, while others were undergoing administrative processes that could lead to further sanctions.

“At the moment, about two of them are on suspension. Some are also going through the due process,” he said.

“We will make sure that institutions admit according to their capacity. We will never allow any institution to admit beyond its capacity,” Mr Akandoh added.

The inauguration exercise, which took place simultaneously in Accra, Kumasi, and Tamale, covered more than 60 health training institutions nationwide. The Accra event alone involved about 28 institutions from the Volta, Oti, Eastern, Western, and Greater Accra regions.

Government shifts focus to specialised training

Mr Akandoh used the occasion to outline the government’s renewed commitment to strengthening governance and quality in health training institutions to ensure the production of competent professionals for the health sector.

He announced a strategic shift from establishing new nursing training colleges to expanding specialised nursing education, citing the growing need for professionals with advanced competencies to manage increasingly complex medical conditions.

Specialised programmes being rolled out include cardiology nursing, critical care nursing, nephrology nursing, oncology nursing, and emergency nursing, targeting the rising burden of non-communicable diseases.

“Our goal is not only to train more nurses but to train the right mix of nurses with the right specialities,” the minister emphasised.

Other initiatives include transitioning health training colleges to Bachelor of Science degree-awarding institutions and securing scholarships for tutors to pursue doctoral studies to enhance academic standards. Mr Akandoh disclosed that about 42 institutions had completed necessary assessments and were awaiting accreditation to commence degree programmes.

Advisory boards tasked with oversight

The newly inaugurated advisory boards have been charged with providing effective oversight and strategic direction to improve institutional management and performance.

Mr Akandoh urged members to promote transparency, accountability, and prudent resource management while supporting academic excellence and high training standards.

“You are entrusted with an important governance mandate at a critical time in the development of our health professional education in this country,” he told the board members.

Chief Director of the Ministry of Health, Desmond Boateng, also addressed the gathering, describing the inauguration as a significant step toward strengthening Ghana’s healthcare system.

He noted that health training institutions were pivotal in producing highly skilled, ethical, and compassionate professionals, and urged board members to support improvements in training, research, innovation, and access to quality healthcare services nationwide.