Fomena (Ash), May 29, GNA - Mr. Kofi Opoku-Manu, Ashanti Regional Minister has assured that the development of the Community Health Nursing School at Fomena in Ashanti was at the heart of the government and the Ashanti Region administration and that positive step would be taken to ensure its development.

He said training people to deliver health care that integrated conservative, preventive, curative and rehabilitative health measures at all levels through dynamic interpersonal process of nursing was a worthy cause.

Mr. Opoku-Manu was speaking at the maiden matriculation of 347 students comprising 297 females and 50 males to the Community Health Nurses' Training School at Fomena in the Adansi North district on Thursday.

It was under the theme, "Championing Excellence in Community Health Nursing through Quality Education".

The Regional Minister expressed appreciation that since the establishment of the school in January 2005 with 50 students, the school has rapidly grown to have a population of 603. He was however not happy that the same structure that housed the 50 students now house the 603 students with teacher-student ratio shifted from 1;6 to 1;86.

Mrs. Lynda Rockson-Mante, Principal of the School said despite the numerous challenges facing the school, the students and staff work hard to achieve success, indicating that in the area of academic, the pioneers chalked 97.9 per cent in the licensing examination organised by the Nurses' and Midwives' Council of Ghana. "The second batch had 95.89 per cent and the third batch which passed out in November 2008 unfortunately had 58.9 per cent, which we are seriously addressing to improve on our academic performance," the Principal said.

Mrs. Mante enumerated a number of challenges confronting the school and mentioned some of them as encroachment on school land which threatened the security of students, staff and school property. She said there was overcrowding of students and inadequate classrooms, and other infrastructural facilities as most of the incomplete buildings lie in the bush.

The Reverend Veronica Darko, Registrar/Chief Executive Officer of the Nurses and Midwives Council of Ghana, express the hope that the students would be committed to the profession and live by its tenets. She said the profession they had chosen was noble but tough and that calls for a lot of selflessness and self-discipline at all level. Alhaji Lateef Majdoub, Adansi North District Assembly urged the students to conduct themselves as students since any detraction such as indiscipline, alcoholism, gambling, internet fraud among other immoral behaviours would definitely spell the doom of their future.