GTEC halts new general nursing programmes nationwide

The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) has imposed an indefinite suspension on the accreditation of all new General Nursing programmes, effectively freezing the creation of such courses in universities and colleges across the country.

In a decisive move, GTEC announced it will “not receive, process, or consider any new application” for General Nursing qualifications at both the diploma and bachelor’s degree levels. The directive, signed by GTEC Director-General Professor Ahmed Jinapor and issued on Wednesday, cites the commission’s regulatory powers and “national human resource development priorities” as the basis for the decision.

The freeze, communicated to all heads of tertiary institutions, signals a major policy shift aimed at streamlining the nation’s nursing output. Instead of expanding general programmes, GTEC is directing educational resources toward acute specializations where shortages are most critical.

Pivot to Specialized Fields

In its statement, GTEC explicitly advised institutions to pivot their focus. It encouraged the development of new programmes in several high-demand nursing specialities, including:

· Critical Care and Emergency Nursing
· Paediatric Nursing
· Oncology Nursing
· Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing

Other priority areas are Geriatric, Nephrology, and Anaesthesia Nursing. The commission stated that proposals in these “specialised and undersubscribed” fields would align with national needs and “are more likely to receive favourable regulatory consideration.”

The suspension is seen as a strategic intervention by the government to correct an imbalance in the nursing workforce, ensuring that training institutions produce graduates whose skills match the specific healthcare demands of the population.

The statement was copied to the Ministers of Education and Health, as well as the Registrar of the Nursing and Midwifery Council, underscoring the coordinated nature of this health-education sector policy.