Fair Wages and Salaries Commission urged to consider market premium for lectures
Professor Yao Tettey, Dean of the University of Ghana Medical School (UGMS), on Wednesday appealed to the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission to consider the market premium of their lecturers in determining their single spine salaries.
“This is the best way of making the remuneration of lecturers in our medical school attractive for the young consultants to be willing to join our faculty,” he said at the first monthly public lecture to commemorate the 50th anniversary celebration of the School.
Prof Tettey said young consultants were not willing to join the faculty as lecturers due to poor remuneration, describing it as most unfortunate since more of them were needed to train more doctors and specialists to meet the “yawning gap of this category of staff in our health care system.”
He said as at the end of 2011, the Ministry of Health required 4,734 doctors, whilst the Medical School had produced 2,570 doctors. The UGMS is estimated to provide 32 per cent of the annual requirement of medical man-power, which urgently needed to be improved upon.
Prof. Tettey said it was worth noting that whilst there were several qualified doctors within and outside Ghana, who could be employed to teach in the medical school, poor conditions of service such as poor remuneration had left the school with lecturers who were typically above 60 years and a “very small proportion below 45 years.
Prof Tetteys said presently, teaching facilities of the School in terms of space and equipment had been stretched to the limit. “We are unable to increase our intake of 150 students for the regular programme and 50 for our graduate Entry Medical Programme.
He said the UGMS had been in temporary location at Korle-Bu for the past 49 years, with the hope of moving to the Legon campus.
Prof. Tettey said with the efforts of the Government, University of Ghana and the College of Health Sciences, steps had been taken to relocate the School to the Legon campus.
“I wish to appeal to the government to ensure this relocation, and also ask corporate Ghana to sponsor us improve upon our various units.”
He appealed for more funds for the school, saying “a few corporate organizations are coming to our aid but we need more help.”
“The Medical School and Medical Man Power Development in Ghana” was the theme for the lecture.
The UGMS was established in October, 1962 with 52 students as first batch.
Source: GNA