A list of pertinent issues came to the fore at the auditorium of the Bagabaga College of Education in Tamale during the Ghana Connect Townhall meeting.

Education and healthcare came up strongly as stakeholders bemoaned the seeming lack of focus on these areas by the government.

Ahead of the December 7 election this year, concerned residents insisted that political parties must priotitise these sectors if they are poised to secure power.

On education, the allowance for teacher trainees came up strongly. During the JoyNews Election HQ event, a teacher at the Bagabaga College of Education, Bilson Dramani, said the issue of allowance had been politicized.

As such, politicians now use it as a political tool and only release these funds to augment their campaigns.

 “In respect of the allowance, the student said it has not been regular, and through observation, it is when the government has political activities, and when they want to highlight that they are paying then they trickle it in and say that they are paying trainee allowance so they should ask them [teacher trainees]. So, this has been used as a political tool to just blindfold the students,” he said.

He advised that if the government did not want to pay the allowance, it should scrap it. This way, he said parents would be aware that the burden of caring for their wards' upkeep was on them rather than the inconsistent nature of the scheme.

Another resident said it was time the teacher trainee allowances were scrapped.

He argued that the allowance offered to teacher trainees has limited the number of trainee teachers accepted into institutions, denying more people access to higher education.

“I agree that the teacher trainee allowance should be scrapped. This year, about 4,000 applicants came in but only 300 students were given the chance to come to training colleges. What happened to the other 3,700 students? They would be sitting in the house," he argued.

He added, "If students in the university also demand that the government pays them allowances, where would the government obtain those resources?."

A retired educationist and Chief, Bukari Mahama, explained that the training allowance was initiated to entice more people to attend training colleges. He added that at the time this allowance was introduced, there were a few teacher-training colleges, but now these colleges are everywhere.

On the back of this, he suggested that the government reinvest the money into infrastructure development.

On health issues, a physically challenged person who gave her name as Florence, said sometimes she is subjected to unfair treatment when she visits the hospital as nurses often expected her to endure long queues.

 “When it comes to healthcare issues, dealing with the physically challenged people sometimes is difficult. The nurses do not pay attention and when you go you have to queue with others before they attend to you. And sometimes the way they treat you, you won’t even like it. 

She continued that it was high time nurses learned sign language to effectively communicate with the deaf and dumb.

 “When it comes to my colleagues, the deaf and dumb people, I think if they could get posters and some signs to show them what to do, it will help. I will also add that they should teach some of the nurses some of the basic things so that when they [deaf and dumb] come they will be able to mention their problems and they [nurses] will understand and proffer solutions,” she added.