By Yussif Ibrahim
Kumasi, June 2, GNA – The Institution of Engineering and Technology, Ghana (IET- Ghana) is making a strong case for the extension of allowances being paid to teacher and nursing trainees to engineering students.
Mr Henry Kwadwo Boateng, President of IET-Ghana, speaking at an induction ceremony for newly qualified engineers in the middle belt and northern sector in Kumasi, said engineering students in technical universities and vocational institutions also deserved financial support from the government.
“For years, we have been told that allowances for teacher and nursing trainees were introduced to attract people into those fields due to low personnel numbers,” he said, asking whether that context is still valid today.
He pointed out that engineering is the engine of industrialisation, infrastructure development, technological advancement, and national competitiveness, yet no support or motivation is extended to engineering students.
According to him, Ghana’s industrial future hinges on the engineering professionals and advocated for a deliberate policy to encourage more students take up engineering courses.
On May 29, 2025, President John Dramani Mahama, during a tour of the Bono East Region, announced the full restoration of nursing training allowances, including the payment of arrears, effective January 2026.
But Engr. Boateng argued that Ghana’s most pressing professional deficit is not teachers and nurses, but engineers, technicians, and skilled artisans.
While acknowledging the positive impact of the President’s announcement for the teaching nursing profession, Engr. Boateng used the occasion to question the continued exclusion of engineering students from similar financial support.
He highlighted the irony that while Ghana struggles to retain local talent, many job sites are filled with artisans from neighbouring countries due to better investment in their training back home.
“Should we also not pay allowances to engineering students? Should we not motivate the young men and women who will build the Ghana we all dream of,” the IET-Ghana President questioned policymakers.
He described his argument not as a plea for favour but a demand for fairness in the national interest, warning that Ghana cannot afford to overlook the very professionals essential to building its future.
Engr. Boateng therefore made a formal appeal to President Mahama and other national leaders to reconsider the scope of trainee support programmes and include engineering students in all relevant policies going forward.
He said if the country was serious about industrialisation, job creation, and self-reliance, then engineering must be taken seriously.
He urged the new inductees to embrace their roles with a sense of purpose, reminding them that Ghana’s future is technical and engineering.
Engr. Abdul Aziz Abubakar, Chairman of IET-Ghana Middle Belt, reminded the inductees that their induction was not for title’s sake but to bring their technical expertise to bear in solving national problems.
He particularly challenged engineers to play leading roles in solving flooding problems which have become annual emergencies, despite the numerous challenges obstructing their work.
GNA
Edited by Yussif Ibrahim/Linda Asante Agyei