Following the release of financial clearance by the Ministry of Finance for the payment of outstanding allowances of trainee nurses and midwives in Ghana, Spy News Agency has gathered that some Nursing Training Colleges (NTCs) in the country are illegally surcharging the students before accepting to process their documents to the Ministry.
Among such institutions is the Psychiatric Nurses Training College at Ankaful where beneficiaries (Level 200 and level 300 students) are being forced to compulsorily pay Ghc30 to Ghc50 before their money can be processed. The estimated number of students who qualify for the allowance is about 525. Our investigations revealed that students who are unable to pay the said amount have their documents set aside.
Some students of the students who spoke to Spy News Agency on conditions of anonymity said they were told by their leaders, some of whom are working for some of the lecturers, that, the money being collected is meant to “facilitate the process” and grease the palms of the staffs of the Ministry of Finance against the hammattan season.
Some officials of the Western and Central Zonal secretariat of the Ghana Nurse and Midwife Trainees’ Association (An association seeking the welfare of the student nurses and midwives in Ghana) have confirmed to us of receiving complaints from the students regarding the extortion of money.
According they expressed displeasure about the situation and assured that they are taking an action. “As far as we are concerned, student nurses and midwives are not supposed to pay any amount before their delayed allowances are processed. Any such occurrence is pure extortion, we shall fight it,” stated one of the zonal officers.
The officer urged the students not to pay any such money to any authority since it is illegal. “No student or school should pay any amount to any individual or group for the facilitation of trainee allowances. The association has already put measures in place to help speed up the processing of the allowances for all schools in Ghana. Any school or individual who pays any amount to some people do so at his or her own risk”.
He said the secretariat has launched investigations into what is happening at Ankaful PNTC and anybody found culpable would be taken on by the law. “The secretariat is investigating the matter and will expose the culprits for the appropriately punishment,” he stated.
“We want to use this avenue to warn student leaders and school authorities engaging in this unlawful act of extortion money from students to desist from this act immediately.
We want to also assure all our members that the National Executive Board will work hard to ensure that we all smile to smile to our various banks always”.
Source: Jeorge Wilson Kingson || Spy News Agency
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