Investing in Health Education: A Call from Dr. Tobbin

Dr. Nana Samuel Amo Tobbin urges the Ghanaian government to expand scholarships to private health institutions, highlighting the need to train more local healthcare professionals and reduce reliance on foreign education.

In July 2025, Dr. Nana Samuel Amo Tobbin, founder and chancellor of Entrance University College of Health Sciences (EUCHS), made a compelling appeal to the Ghanaian government: extend and expand scholarship programmes, especially to private health‑training institutions, to ensure that the next generation of health professionals can be educated locally, affordably, and to global standards. GhanaWeb

At the inauguration of EUCHS’s new Schools of Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, and its dental hospital (held on Spintex Road, Accra), Dr. Tobbin urged the government to invest not only in public universities, but also in private ones. He argued that scholarships would enable brilliant but financially constrained students to pursue health science education at home. GhanaWeb+1

“Training our students here at home will ensure that the funds remain within the country and contribute to supporting our local communities.” — Dr. Tobbin GhanaWeb

He also noted a challenge faced by Ghanaians who go abroad for medical or dental education: cultural, language, and curricular differences sometimes complicate their ability to pass Ghana’s professional licensure examinations upon return. Educating students locally, he held, helps avoid such disconnects. GhanaWeb+1

Vice President Prof. Naana Jane Opoku‑Agyemang, who launched the new facilities, affirmed the government’s willingness to collaborate with private institutions in strengthening Ghana’s healthcare workforce. GhanaWeb She described Entrance University’s achievement—becoming the first private university in Ghana to establish a medical and dental school—as laudable and an exemplar for others. GhanaWeb

Why Expanding Scholarships Matters

This is not just about bricks and mortar. The push for more scholarships to health training has deep significance:

1. Equity & access
   Many bright students are held back by financial constraints. Scholarships provide opportunity to those from less privileged backgrounds, diversifying the pool of health professionals.

2. Retention of resources
   By training locally, governments, institutions, and students keep much of the investment (instructors, infrastructure, clinical training) within Ghana — rather than sending funds abroad.

3. Better alignment to local health needs
   Educating health professionals in Ghana means curricula can be tailored to local disease burdens, contexts, and system challenges — preparing graduates from day one to serve Ghana’s specific needs.

4. Quality and licensure readiness
   When education is well-aligned with Ghana’s standards and regulatory systems, graduates are better positioned to pass licensure exams and integrate smoothly into national systems.

5. Strengthening private sector contribution
   Private health training institutions can complement public ones, alleviating pressure on public universities. But they often lack access to public funding or scholarship schemes. Extending scholarships to them helps leverage their growth.

What Shirlinx Healthcare Advocates

As a healthcare organisation committed to improving health outcomes, Shirlinx Healthcare should be a vocal advocate for policies aligned with Dr. Tobbin’s call. Below are some suggestions:

• Policy advocacy
  Write to the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, and Parliament to support legislation or budget lines that extend national scholarship schemes to private health training institutions.

• Partnerships with training institutions
  Collaborate with private health training colleges (like EUCHS) to offer joint scholarships, internships, or mentoring for students who commit to serving in underserved districts.

• Scholarship fund sponsorships
  Shirlinx could establish its own scholarship fund targeting needy yet high-potential students in nursing, physiotherapy, pharmacy, etc., with service‑bond agreements.

• Public awareness campaigns
  Use your platforms to explain to the public and policymakers how investing in health education now yields long-term dividends: a stronger health system, lower dependence on foreign-trained professionals, and better health outcomes.

• Tracking & accountability
  Support independent monitoring of scholarship outcomes (graduation rates, job placement, retention in underserved areas) to ensure the funds are used effectively.

Challenges & Considerations

• Sustainability of funding
  Scholarships require sustained funding over several years; single-year budget allocations may not suffice.

• Ensuring fairness
  Transparent, merit- and need‑based selection criteria must be used to avoid favoritism or exclusion.

• Quality assurance
  Scholarships must be paired with good instruction, clinical rotation access, and infrastructure to ensure graduates are competent.

• Bonding and retention
  To prevent “brain drain,” scholars should have obligations to serve in Ghana (or in underserved regions) for a period.

• Institutional capacity
  Private institutions expanding into medicine or dentistry need strong faculty, laboratories, teaching hospitals — scholarships alone won’t suffice unless paired with investment in capacity.

Conclusion

Dr. Tobbin’s appeal is timely and quite strategic: Ghana’s health system needs more well-trained professionals, and enabling their education should be a shared national aim. Scholarships to private health training institutions can unlock new capacity, broaden access, and keep the investment local.

For Shirlinx Healthcare, this is more than policy — it’s mission alignment. By advocating, partnering, and perhaps even funding scholarships, Shirlinx can help shape the next generation of Ghana’s health workforce.