The Restoration Of The Nursing Trainee Allowances And The Hidden Realities Thereof; Is Government Giving These Students A Token To Keep Them Silent And Unemployed After Graduation?

It is often said that “half a loaf is better than none” but it is also true that even a full loaf you will eat without knowing when and how your next meal is coming from is to be thought through before consumption.

‘’We will restore in full Nursing and Teacher Trainee allowances in 100 days if NPP is elected come December 7th, 2016’’. These were the words of Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia, the then running mate of the then opposition NPP. This statement caused an uprising within teachers and nurses as well as their trainee’s front who couldn’t fathom why trainee allowance was cancelled despite all the explanation that was given to them by government.

The reasons were simple, though poorly communicated. The NDC government wanted to increase trainee enrolment which would in turn produce more health professionals into the system. The nurse/patient ratio which is currently nothing good to write home about is what the John Mahama government wanted to tackle. This is undoubtedly a laudable idea if it was effectively communicated.

Ghana was expected to be an exporter of Nurses in the not too distant future. Ghana largely exports goods but few services are exported. This initiative would have boosted our export of services too.

Construction of Extra Teaching Hospitals, Regional Hospitals, District Health Centres and many more Chips Compounds was the prime focus. That is why under the last 8 years of the NDC government several health facilities were constructed and the idea was to be in full capacity to absorb the large number of health professionals that was expected from the increased enrolment in the health institutions. The benefits of more health facilities is enormous; it is the only means we can reduce the Maternal mortality rate, reduce the rate of child deaths, fight malaria, diarhoea and other communicable diseases as a more rigorous health awareness campaign would be conducted.

Provision of loans through the Student Loans Trust Fund was also made available, and access was made much easier to cushion students whose financial capabilities are limited. Let’s not also forget that the UP Tradition once upon a time cancelled trainee allowance and converted several training institutions into secondary schools. The Kumasi Anglican Senior High School (KASS) is a very good example of some of the training institutions that was converted from training status to Secondary school status. To add more salt to injury they even said the teacher’s reward is in Heaven and for that matter it wasn’t government’s duty to reward them with allowances.

The Mills/Mahama government saw a dramatic increase of Teachers and Nurses salaries as well as all workers’ salaries in general with the introduction of the Single Spine Salary Pay Structure.

All manner of hate campaign was embarked by the NPP against the NDC at the student trainee’s front. They bought into the lies of the NPP and finally the NPP was elected. The trainee teachers and nurses were paid an allowance of GHc450 each under the NDC regime prior to its cancellation at a time NSS personnel allowances was GHc243.58, 45.87% below the trainee allowances. So a restoration of GHc400 cannot represent a full restoration of allowances; the trainees deserves better. It should either be the GHS450 they were previously paid or the current terms of GHc887.69 which is the 50.88% above the NSS personnel allowances which currently stand at GHc559.04

Now this is where the problem lies. The quota system that limits the intake of students which was abolished by the NDC government has been reintroduced, this saw a dramatic cut in the admission of students into the various training institutions this year and is expected to continue into the foreseeable future. This measure deliberately refuses many applicants admission into these training institutions thereby killing the dreams of our young brothers and sisters who but for the quota system would have become Nurses. This is an ABSOLUTE ABSURDITY; as the FATE, FUTURE, and DREAMS of these young ones’ is now held HOSTAGE by a mere power drunk CARTEL.

The bonding system that used to be attached to these nursing trainee allowances have also been abolished. Now those who have successfully passed through these Health Training Institutions (HTIs) as well as those who are well informed about the bonding system will attest to the fact that the BOND is a legal document that is signed between the individual trainee and the government. This agreement is basically for the government to pay the trainee allowance and the student will in turn serve the government for a maximum of 5 years before he/she can leave the shores of Ghana.

The mind boggling questions are:
1. Is the government satisfied with the current number of Nurses and Midwives that it doesn’t deem it necessary any longer to bond them? We all know the Patient/Nurse ratio is still very poor.

2. Why will government use tax payers’ money to pay allowances without entering into any legal agreement/contract them?

3. And most importantly is the government giving these unsuspecting trainee students a token to keep them silent and unemployed after graduation?

Trainee Nurses shouldn’t clap and leap until the bonding system is reintroduced else their joy will be short lived immediately they graduate and start thinking about employment which would be extremely hard to get. Without the bond no unemployed nurse would have the moral right/courage to demonstrate or picket to pressurize government to employ them. Better put without the Bond, all public and privately trained nurses will be the same since no legal agreement exist between them and government.

Don’t get me wrong; I am not against trainee allowances, I want to see them absorbed immediately after their graduation with or without allowances. My humble piece of advice to trainee nurses is make hay while the sun shines.

Enough said. A word to a wise is enough. Besides the only help I can offer a widow screaming from the concubines’ room is to peep through the window which I have done.