Some Ghanaian students who were studying in Ukraine before the war with Russia have welcomed the announcement by the University for Development Studies (UDS) to allow them to continue their health professional education with the school.
This comes after the government promised to help the students continue with their studies after evacuating them.
The initiative, Dubbed: ‘Special Education Project’, will create an opportunity for all African health professional students, who were displaced as a result of the Ukraine-Russia war, to complete their studies at the UDS School of Medicine.
While commending the move, the President of the Ukraine chapter of the National Union of Ghana Students, Philip Bobbie-Ansah, advocated for classes to begin in September 2022 instead of January 2023.
“UDS have now put in place measures to absorb us and that is something nice to hear. Our only concern is that the integration will happen next year in January. I don’t know why it is taking that long to happen. We are just asking if we can do it in September instead because staying home for that long, you become rusty not doing anything,” he said.
The arrangement to enable the evacuated Ghanaian evacuees to continue their education at UDS is a collaboration between UDS-School of Medicine, AMPATH Ghana, and partners at the New York University.
The Vice-Chancellor of the University for Development Studies, Prof. Gabriel Ayum Teye, while speaking at the university’s special congregation ceremony in Tamale, said, “this proposal has been unanimously approved by the SoM Board, UDS academic board, and UDS council, the School of Medicine, together with other public medical Schools in Ghana and partners, and will soon be out with details related on enrolment and implementation of the support to these students.”
