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Health Minister, Kwaku Agyemang Manu has said that the introduction of the quota system for nursing training colleges has nothing to do with the payment of training allowances for nursing trainees.

A circular from the Nursing and Midwifery Council to the 75 nursing training institutions in the country said the admission quota for this year will reduce by almost 1600.

Opposition communicators have argued that the lack of money to pay the re-introduced nursing trainee allowances led the government to introduce the quota system.

Reacting to this on Adom FM’s Morning Show, ‘Dwaso Nsem’ Monday, the Health Minister said the cost of restoring allowances to trainee nurses in the country has nothing to do with the introduction of the quota system.

The Minister said government introduced the quota system as part of the means to ensuring improvement in the quality of nursing trainees.

“It is true that we have not met the US standard but we can’t use one year to train nurses to meet the US standard, it has to be a gradual process…Ghana lacks the capacity and facility to offer practical for the nurses…,” he said.

The reduction in the number, the Minister who is also the MP for Dormaa West said is a way of ensuring that there is an improvement in the training that the nurses receive at the colleges.

“The problem is not with the schools and their ability but the place for the practical because the space available for the clinical is limited and some nurses after their clinical cannot even work up to standard when they return to the ward…,” he added.

Kwaku Agyemang Manu further argued that it is out of place for opposition politicians to call on government to ensure that all applicants to nursing training colleges should gain admission.

“Have you seen a university which offer admission to all applicants? You need to get the quality resource to train and that has got nothing to do with the allowances…,” he said.