Ghana’s nurses and midwives have rallied behind Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia in the upcoming elections, driven by their evaluation of financial support policies for healthcare graduates.
According to the Graduate Unemployed Nurses and Midwives Association (GUNMA), Bawumia’s administration has promised to continue providing allowances for nursing and midwifery students, a move they find preferable compared to the loan-based system proposed by former President John Dramani Mahama.
GUNMA members highlight that, under Bawumia, the payment of these allowances has been consistent from 2016 to 2021, despite recent issues with arrears.
They argue that the allowance system, which does not require repayment, is more favorable compared to Mahama’s loan proposal, which would impose a financial burden on graduates who would need to repay the loans after completing their studies.
“You are given a loan and at the end of the year you are going to pay it back let us not forget that but then when you are given allowance after graduating you are not going to pay back. But from our former president he wanted to give us loan meaning after school we have to pay the loan back.
“But NPP also came and said they are going to give the allowance though I learnt they are having inconsistency in the payment of the allowance but as I said that from 2016 to 2021 they have been consistent with the payment of the allowance just that 2 years that they are having arrears with some of the students in school. So cancelling allowance and replacing it with student loan we the students do not support this,” he added.
The association emphasized that replacing the current allowance system with loans would disadvantage students already facing financial difficulties.
We don't support cancelling allowance for student loans – Graduate Unemployed Nurses and Midwives Association disagree with Mahama #MetroNews pic.twitter.com/gvnwhnMlPV
— Metro TV Ghana (@metrotvgh) August 13, 2024