Lack of infrastructure impeding enrolment of more medical students at KNUST  - Ghana Business News

Inadequate facilities at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) are limiting student enrollment. This issue affects the School of Medical Sciences (SMS) at KNUST in Kumasi.

Professor Akwasi Antwi-Kusi, Dean of KNUST-SMS, highlighted this problem. He noted that the school could admit more students if it had better infrastructure. The lack of lecture theatres and seminar rooms is a significant barrier.

This year, the school shortlisted 1,040 applicants for interviews. These applicants had aggregate scores between six and eight. However, only 240 were admitted, leaving nearly 800 qualified students without a chance to study medicine.

During the 50th Anniversary of KNUST-SMS, Professor Antwi-Kusi mentioned ongoing challenges. After five decades, the school still lacks office space for lecturers at KATH.

He pointed out that combined medical and dental classes have 320 students. Yet, classrooms can only accommodate 120 students at KATH. As a result, clinical students travel 15 kilometers between the university and KATH for lectures and exams.

This travel causes wear and tear on resources and increases transport costs. The impact on students' clinical work is also significant.

To address these issues, alumni are starting a legacy project at KATH. They plan to build a multi-purpose lecture theatre with a capacity of 400 students. The estimated cost is GH¢50 million and will include offices, seminar rooms, a student clinic, and a canteen.

Professor Antwi-Kusi urged stakeholders to support this project financially. He also called on corporate organizations to invest in medical education as part of their social responsibility.

Additionally, he addressed other challenges in delivering quality medical education. He urged the government to review medical education fees and provide special loans for medical students.

He explained that underfunding is one of the biggest challenges facing medical education in Ghana. In contrast to Ghana's GH¢10,000 annual tuition fee, U.S. medical schools charge about $60,000 per year.

This funding gap affects infrastructure, equipment quality, faculty salaries, and available resources for training future doctors.

The anniversary theme was “A Glance at the Past, A Glimpse into the Future.”