First phase of KNUST hospital project to be completed in October 2022
Work on the first phase of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Teaching Hospital project will be completed in October, this year, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Asantehene, and Chancellor of the University, has disclosed.
The project, which came to a halt for over a decade due to financial constraints, is being executed to serve as a teaching, research, and training facility for health and allied professionals.
It was originally designed to serve as a complementary teaching health facility for the KNUST School of Medical Sciences, which has over the years relied on the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) for the clinical training of its medical students.
In 2021, the Government, in response to an appeal by the Asantehene, initiated moves by releasing funds for its continuation, which is situated at Boadi in the Oforikrom Municipality of the Ashanti Region.
“I would want to sincerely thank the President, His Excellency, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo, for graciously heeding to my call for support,” Otumfuo Osei Tutu noted, when he addressed the 2021 Special Congregation of the University, at the Great Hall, Kumasi, on Saturday.
The Asantehene said the University community was also grateful to the Government for making the necessary provisions for the second phase of the project in this year’s Budget.
Upon completion, it would help decongest the KATH, Ghana’s second-largest health referral facility, due to the number of patients visiting the facility daily to seek healthcare.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu reminded the graduates that they were “one of several cohorts of graduates who are leaving the KNUST campus into the world of work at a time of great economic challenges.”
Therefore, they should go out there and make the desired difference.
“We must gear up to rebuild, and in re-building, the nation will need brilliant, hardworking, and dedicated young people who are innovative and are not deterred by challenges,” the Chancellor said.
Professor Mrs Rita Akosua Dickson, the Vice-Chancellor, KNUST, lauded the teaching staff and administrators for their resilience and tenacity of purpose during the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
The pandemic, she said, had forced the University to adopt new teaching strategies for the benefit of the students, especially the use of Information Technology in academic activities.
Reverend John Ntim Fordjour, the Deputy Minister of Education, lauded the University for spearheading research and application of technology to address Ghana’s development challenges.
He gave the assurance that the Government would provide the University with the requisite resources to meet its mission and vision.
A total of 4,712 students, made up of 1,455 undergraduates and 3,257 postgraduates, were awarded certificates at this year’s Congregation.
In terms of gender, the University graduated 1,652 females, representing 35.06 per cent of the total number of students passing out this year.
Source: GNA