President John Dramani Mahama has announced his government’s intention to address major infrastructural deficits affecting teaching and learning at the Bole Nursing and Midwifery Training College.

The President, speaking through the Bole District Chief Executive, Abdallah Mahamud, during the college’s 24th matriculation ceremony for 208 students, said the government was aware of the challenges facing the institution and would soon roll out plans to address them.

He stated that one of the cornerstones of human resource development is quality.

“Quality in health delivery cannot be compromised. Therefore, the government is working to ensure the provision of the necessary infrastructure to meet that target.”

He added that the government would also consider other needs and requests presented by the Principal of the college, Michael Yidana Mantamia.

Mr Mahamud said the District Assembly would collaborate with the Member of Parliament for Bole-Bamboi to implement government interventions aimed at supporting the college in training professionals.

On his part, the Principal of the college, Michael Yidana Mantamia, reminded the matriculants that their training would not be easy and would require dedication and commitment to achieve good results.

“Dear matriculants, the road ahead in your training will not be all rosy or easy. You need to brace yourselves for a reasonably challenging period. However, with cooperation and the grace of God, you will succeed.”

He urged the students to make sacrifices, including forgoing sleep when necessary to attend to patients, maintaining professionalism even under difficult conditions, and visiting clients in their home environments to better understand and care for them.

Mr Mantamia stated that out of the 208 matriculants, 61 were Registered Public Health Nurses (19 males and 42 females), 62 were Registered Midwives (all female), and 85 were Registered Nurse Assistants Preventive (16 males and 69 females). In total, there were 35 males (16.8 per cent) and 173 females (83.2 per cent).

Touching on the college’s newly acquired 50-acre land for a second campus, the Principal appealed to the government to prevent the facility from becoming a white elephant by addressing the need for additional lecture halls, ICT laboratories and a fully equipped skills laboratory to cater for the growing student population.

The Savannah Regional representative on the Council of State, Chief Sampson Seidu Abudu, in response to the recognition of his leadership as a former District Chief Executive and traditional ruler, pledged to continue supporting the college.

“Your appreciation is noted, and it remains my responsibility to support the development of the college, which was given a solid foundation during my tenure as DCE,” he said.

He later donated twenty thousand cedis towards the welfare of the Students’ Representative Council.