But for the timely intervention of vigilantes of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the medical school at the University for Development Studies (UDS) would have been shuttered, Alhaj Hudu Yahaya, a former vice chair person of the governing National Democratic Congress has revealed.
The school was established by the founder of the NDC, former president Mr Jerry John Rawlings and the PNDC government in May 1992 as a public university.
According to Alhaji Yahaya, the former president, Mr John Agyekum Kufour regime did all it could to close down the UDS medical school for reasons best known to them.
The NPP’s then intention if it had succeeded, would certainly have denied several young Ghanaians aspiring to become doctors to serve people, the 1992-2002 NDC General Secretary stated.
In May, 2012, the first batch of medical doctors trained by the University for Development Studies (UDS) School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) were inducted into the Medical and Dental Council, as they began their two years housemanship program at the Tamale Teaching Hospital and some district hospitals in the Northern Region of Ghana. In February 7, 2014, 27 newly qualified doctors, made up of 14 females and 13 males swore the Hippocratic Oath (the physician’s oath) and national pledge.
They were the first batch of doctors to be trained using the problem-based learning (PBL) approach introduced by the university in 2007. They were also the third batch of medical doctors trained by the UDS-SMHS to be licensed by the GMDC to operate as qualified medical doctors in the country.
The doctors used the Tamale Teaching Hospital ( TTH) and other accredited health facilities in the country where they could be mentored by specialists during their ‘housemanship’.
But addressing a large crowd at the campaign launch of the Nanton MP at Zogu, Alhaji Hudu Yahaya told electorates of Nanton constituency that the NDC government’s commitment in improving education in the country is intact and it will continue to improve infrastructure across the country.
The NDC vision for establishing UDS, Alhaji Hudu Yahaya, said was to ensure that children who wish to have their tertiary education in the north have access to tertiary education.
“We stood our grounds and prevented the NPP government from closing down the medical school so please be aware of them,” Alhaji Yahaya recounted in the Dagbani language.
Alhaji Yahaya, reminded the electorate about what the NDC stands for: Unity, Stability and Development. The NDC has a track record in Ghana’s history when it comes to the provision of electricity, roads, water and other social amenities and it will use these in its campaign without insulting anyone.
