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Story Reported By Gideon Kotey
Kyeremeh Oppong Daniel, President, NUGS, addressing journalists
The National Union of Ghana Student NUGS) has called on government, chrough the Ministry of Education, to put in place interim measures to ensure learners in the flood affected areas of the Volta Region have access to continuous education.
The President of NUGS, Kyeremeh Oppong Daniel, said in a needs assessment conducted by the association, it was observed that 27 basic schools remained closed, affecting 9,178 schoolchildren with over 300 teachers displaced, hence disrupting the educational ecosystem in those areas.
The NUGS President made the call at a news conference in Accra yesterday.
He said the union would launch a one- month teaching volunteering programme that would deploy about 200 dedicated individuals to assist learners in flood affected areas.
He also used the occasion to appeal to the government for a prompt resolution of the outstanding nursing training allowances that remained unpaid for over a year.
Mr Kyeremeh said NUGS was committed and actively working to provide essential teaching and learning materials to the schools to ensure that the education of the affected children was not interrupted.
He extended his sympathies to the communities that had been impacted by the floods, saying "the devastation caused by the floods has left a lasting impact on the education system in the region.
"We call on stakeholders to partner with the union for uniformity.
We must ensure that no child is disadvantaged as a result of this crisis.
We need to see how possible we can restore education in these communities, even as we focus on other basic needs," he added.
He acknowledged the institutions and individuals who had supported the victims since the disaster struck and urged donors to prioritise teaching and learning materials in their benevolence to the people.
On nursing training in the country, Mr Kyeremeh said there appeared to be no regulation in the fees paid by nursing trainees across the various institutions, saying "the monies paid by students are quite different and now school fees keep skyrocketing".
"In the coming days, we will submit proposals to the Minister of Finance and engage with the necessary stakeholders to make sure our nursing training allowances are paid.
We clearly understand the situation we find ourselves in, in this particular country.
But we are calling on the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance to quickly fast-track the payment of nursing training allowances," he said.
He underscored the crucial role played by trainee nurses and trainee midwives in the country's healthcare delivery system, and how they had been adversely affected by the situation.
"Despite their unwavering commitment and vital contributions to provide quality healthcare services, the trainees have not received the compensation they rightly deserve," he added.
He, however, entreated students to reach out to the union with any issue they were facing in order for the union to help address them.
Source: www.truthtvnews.com
Editor: Nii Amon