Jirapa, Oct. 15, GNA - The Jirapa Community Health Nurses Training School in the Jirapa-Lambussie District of the Upper West Region, has only two classrooms to accommodate 190 students, currently undergoing training there.

These classrooms were originally built to accommodate 50 students each and one of the facilities is currently being used as a library and the other as an office and a demonstration room. Madam Elizabeth Dabuoh, principal of the school, said these when Mr. George Hikah Benson, the Regional Minister, inaugurated a new hostel and classroom for the institution, built by government at a cost of 638,027.48 Ghana Cedis, at Jirapa. She said the school could not admit even 10 per cent of the total number of qualified applicants for the 2008/2009 academic year due to inadequate accommodation. Madam Dabuoh cautioned that there could be an outbreak of communicable diseases among the students because of congestion in the classrooms and hostel.

She said "Our school has no permanent kitchen facility, no supportive staff due to the ban on recruitment, no computer laboratory and no Internet facility". Madam Dabuoh expressed worry that there was no supervisor at the female hostel due to the lack of residential accommodation for staff. She said the school has only three tutorial staff including the principal and a preceptor. Madam Dabuoh said despite these challenges, the school had been performing creditably in the final examinations and cited that 60 students scored 99 per cent in 2004 and 72 students scored 100 per cent with two distinctions and 33 credits in 2005. She commended government for providing the school with a hostel, classroom and a 62-seater bus. Madam Dabuoh, however, appealed for more vehicles to convey students to remote areas for practical work and for administrative purposes. Mr. Benson said despite financial constraints, government was committed to improving the health sector so that the people could have easy access to medical care. He urged the students to cooperate with their teachers to enhance teaching and learning. Mr. Benson appealed to the students to accept posting to the deprived communities, where their services would be most needed, after the completion of the training. The Minister gave the assurance that he would inform government about the problems facing the school.