The Vice Chancellor of the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) has bemoaned the challenge of the high deficit of infrastructure and inadequate Information and Communication Technology logistics confronting the university.
Prof John Owusu Gyapong indicated the phenomenon has hampered on the effective training of students where five out of six schools are being run in temporary structures.
He, therefore, appealed to government to provide the university with basic infrastructure to enhance the university delivers effectively on its core mandate of training highly skilled health professionals.
Prof Gyapong made the appeal at the university's second congregation held on the main campus in Sokode-Lokoe in the Ho Municipality of the Volta Region.
He stated that “we have major infrastructure deficit, academic and residential facilities are almost none existent. Only one out of eight of our schools [School of Basic and Biomedical Sciences] has been built, none of our three institutes have been built."
"We think that there should be some equity in the distribution of resources when Legon, KNUST and Cape Coast [University] were built, there were given some basic minimum infrastructure to be able to operate and then they added more."
"So we are appealing to government to give us basic minimum infrastructure to be able to operate. As we speak now, we don't have a single hall of residence, so our students have no clue what being in a JCR means," he said.
He also pleaded with government to ensure a swift completion of the conversion of the Volta Regional Hospital into a teaching hospital for use by the university.
Prof Gyapong, however, indicated that despite the numerous challenges, the university has made tremendous strides by establishing an Institute of Health Research and introduced a Pharmacy Programme into the school's curriculum.
A Supreme Court Judge, Justice Jones Dotse, who chairs the University's Council assured that the newly constituted Council would ensure UHAS delivers on its core mandate.
He admonished the newly trained health professionals to uphold ethics of their profession in the discharge of their duties.
The Volta Regional Minister, Dr Archibald Letsa, implored the graduands to accept posting to any part of the country in the line of their duty to serve humanity.
He pledged government's commitment to the development of the university to its full capacity.
"We are doing everything possible to support the development of this university. At least we have met the President twice already and we had several discussions with the President who is committed to the development of this university", Dr Letsa said.
The University's founding Vice Chancellor, Prof Fred Binka alongside Dr Christiana Amoako-Nuamah and Dr Delanyo Yao Dovlo were conferred honorary Doctorate degrees for their contributions towards establishment and development of UHAS.
Mr Amos Sorengmen Ziema, who scored a GDP of 3.6 swept three awards to emerge the overall best graduating UHAS student.
376 students graduated from the School of Basic and Biomedical Sciences, Public Health, Allied Sciences, Medicine, Nursing and Midwifery, Pharmacy and Public Health.
The graduands were presented with Bachelor of Science degree in disciplines such as Dietetics, Midwifery, Nursing, Physician Assistantship, Medical Laboratory Sciences, and Public Health with options in Health Promotion, Nursing, Nutrition, Health Information, Disease Control and Environmental Health.
UHAS, which was established in 2012 with a student population of 154, now has over 3,700 students on admission. Eighteen academic programme are currently being run in six out of the eight stipulated schools.
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