Accra, July 28, GNA - The University of Ghana Medical School (UGMS) is increasing its intake from 150 to 180 students from the next academic year, which is due to commerce in August 2006.

This move, is geared towards increasing the number of doctors produced by the School each year, Professor Aaron Lawson, Dean of the School, announced on Friday in Accra.

Speaking at the inauguration of a new Examination Hall at the premises of Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Prof Lawson explained that a number of projects had been initiated to enhance teaching and learning in the School.

He said for instance, the College of Health Sciences (CHS) with support from the Government was constructing a new hostel, which was about 80 per cent complete, to cater for the increasing number of students.

The Dean said there were moves to procure audiovisuals and other equipment for the lecture rooms and laboratories as well. While appreciating the Government for the financial support to the construction of the hostel, Prof. Lawson appealed to it to help the School to put "finishing touches", including the provision of furniture to enable an immediate completion that would allow student to move in at the beginning of the academic year.

The new examination hall renovated and furnished at a cost of more than 630 million cedis by the Class of 1986-year group of the UGMS used to be an empty space on the ground floor of the College of Health Science (CHS)Building.

Dr Ivy Ikem, Head, Department of Haematology, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, who is also a member of the Class of 1986, said members decided to embark on the project as part of their 20th anniversary of graduating from the School.

She said messages was, therefore, sent out to group members scattered across the world to pay a levy which was later supported by other corporate bodies in the country and thus, the project was started. She said 120 chairs were also purchased by the Class to be used by students at the hall.

Dr Enoch Osafo Darko, USA Representative of the Class of 1986, described the examination hall as the only facility that could accommodate an entire class during examination. He said the gesture initially seemed daunting, "but the class came through big time and now, this is our contribution to our Alma Marta", which gave us the training and the professional skills to save mankind. The Minister of Education Science and Sports, Papa Owusu Ankomah in a speech read for him by his Deputy Mr Kwame Aporfoh Twumasi commended the members for the gesture and appealed to other year groups to emulate them.

He said while the Government considered the provision of such infrastructure as its primary responsibility, its meagre funds coupled with its competing demands called for the support of individuals and other corporate entities to help to provide such facilities. He urged the Class to adopt the Hall and maintain it periodically. Mr Samuel Owusu-Agyei, Deputy Minister of Health, expressed regret that out of the over 73 members of the Class of 1986, only 23 were currently working in Ghana with the rest working abroad. He, therefore, urged them to reconsider their decision and come back to provide service to the people as a way of checking the brain drain.

Mr Sam Okudjeto, Chairman of the Council of CHS, said the provision of a good health facility was the best investment any nation could make and, therefore, commended the group for the infrastructure. He also expressed worry over how Ghanaian doctors trained locally with State funds were "poached to other countries" thereby depriving us from benefiting fully from their services.

He, therefore, suggested that proper arrangement should be made so that Ghanaian doctors, who wished to work outside, could be sent out under a properly organized arrangement that would benefit both the doctors and the nation as well.