Last Tuesday, the government secured an agreement with the Caribbean island state for 200 Ghanaian medical students who had to flee Ukraine to continue and complete their education at the St George’s University of Medicine, Grenada.

The Registrar of the Scholarships Secretariat, Kingsley Agyemang, and the Director of Recruitment and Commercial Engagement of the university, David Anthonisz, signed the agreement to this effect in the United Kingdom (UK).

Those present at the ceremony included the Chief Growth and Strategy Officer of Medforth, a global healthcare education organisation, Molly K. O’Neill, the Chief Accountant of the Scholarships Secretariat, Richard Aidoo; the Head of Education and Recruitment of the Ghana High Commission, Afua Gyasiwaa Gaisie, and the Officer in charge of Diaspora Affairs at the Scholarship Secretariat, Richard Gyamfi.

Other agreements

Mr Agyemang told the Daily Graphic that the country was engaging other countries it had educational exchange agreements with to strike similar agreements.

The move, he said, would ensure that the 200 medical students continued with their education seamlessly so that they would return to the country after their programme to augment the number of medical doctors in Ghana.

Interaction

The Registrar said within the month, officials of St George’s University would interact with the affected medical students on individual basis towards offering them admission.

Mr Agyemang indicated that those who would not have placement at St George’s University, which had over 200 affiliated schools around the world, would liaise with the affiliate schools to offer the Ghanaian students the opportunity to continue their studies.

Context

The agreement follows an earlier Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Ghana and the university, signed in 2019.

Under the MoU, selected students who have first degrees in medical sciences would be offered scholarships for postgraduate training in the medical field.

The scholarship packages ranged from 50 per cent to 100 per cent funding by the awarding institutions, with the Scholarship Secretariat as the coordinating agency.

Proactive move

Mr Agyemang noted that the secretariat brokered the additional arrangement because the Ghana Medical School could not have placement for such continuing students.

He said some of the students had a few months left to become full-fledged medical doctors.

The Scholarships Secretariat Registrar added that not all the students had arrived from Ukraine but the government was being proactive.

Asked about the remaining 800 students who were not studying Medicine, Mr Agyemang said the government was liaising with other educational institutions both home and abroad to ensure that they continued with their studies.

He added that the students who had so far left Ukraine for Ghana through the efforts of the government would be contacted and the necessary arrangements done to quickly get them to continue with their studies in Grenada.

Mr Agyemang further stated that the moves were important in complementing Ghana’s efforts to train medical professionals as it worked towards achieving universal health coverage.

Rep from St George’s University

For his part, Mr Anthonisz said St George University of Medicine was excited and ready to absorb the medical students.

He said the university would ensure that they continued with their studies under the best of conditions.

Mr Anthonisz commended the country for having a reputation for providing great students at the international level, saying that was one of the reasons for the partnership.

He said the university had trained over 16,000 professionals, with over 10,000 of them practising in the United States and other countries.

The university’s director of recruitment expressed the hope that the collaboration between Ghana and St George University would see to the grooming of great health professionals in the country.

According to them, they are still in a state of shock and are yet to come to terms with his sudden demise.

The Executive Director of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) Foundation, Dr Dominic Eduah, disclosed this in an interview on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen.

He explained the family made the appeal when a delegation paid a visit to commiserate with them.

Mr Klutse, who was a second-year medical student, is said to have passed on on Friday, May 7, 2021, with the cause of his demise yet-to-be known.

His colleague students have alleged the harsh living conditions in Cuba accounted for his death.

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Reacting to the claims of the students, Dr Eduah said the family told them on their visit their son was a diabetic patient whose condition was being managed for sometime now.

However, they will wait for the autopsy report to ascertain the cause of death.

“The student’s father is also a medical doctor trained in Cuba and has expressed shock over some of the reports and media commentaries, especially concerning his son’s death.

“He told us he has stayed away from the radio or TV and will also plead with the media to tone down its coverage of the incident,” Dr Eduah said.

The Executive Director of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) Foundation, Dr Dominc Eduah, revealed this in an interview on Accra-based Citi FM.

According to him, the outfit is willing to pay all expenses that will be incurred as part of the transportation process.

However, he did not give any timeline as to when the autopsy will be completed to facilitate the transportation of the mortal remains.

“We discussed it and we are waiting for the full autopsy report and after that GNPC is on standby and is committed to ensuring that the body is brought in as early as possible for the necessary rites to be undertaken,” he assured.

The second-year medical student on the GNPC scholarship in Cuba is reported to have passed on on Friday, May 7, 2021, with the cause not yet known.

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But his colleagues have attributed the death to what they described as harsh living conditions and delayed stipends they are faced with in Cuba.

Claims GNPC has fought off with the explanation that the students are part of their own problems because they have insisted on a tabletop mode of payment which they [GNPC] cannot offer.

According to the Executive Director of the GNPC Foundation, Dominic Eduah, the outfit has been diligent in fulfilling its obligation to the students.

“The reputation of GNPC is very high and we have been diligent in fulfilling our part of the bargain because it wouldn’t be fair to take citizens to a foreign country and leave them to their fate to suffer,” he said.

The students, who are mostly sponsored by the GNPC and the Ghana Scholarships Secretariat, say the two bodies have delayed in sending their stipends for five and eight months, respectively.

A situation they alleged led to the death of a second year student, Erasmus Klutse on Friday, May 7, 2021.

But reacting to the development on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen, Dr Eduah said the students are partially to be blamed.

He said some of the students have refused to make available their bank details for payment over what they claim is the many deductions made from the money.

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They have, therefore, demanded a tabletop payment, an issue Dr Eduah said they have been dragging for some time now because the organisation cannot offer that mode of payment.

On the feeding of the students, he disclosed that has never been a problem as their institution continuously feeds them.

“These students are provided a balanced three-square meal by the school but some of them have complained about the type of food and not the quality,” he stated.

Commenting on the death of Mr Klutse, he said a delegation has paid a visit to the family to commiserate with them.