Principal of Okomfo Anokye Nursing Training Impregnates A Student & Kicks Her Out of Studies for Being Pregnant

The various Nursing Training Colleges in Ghana have for long held on an absurd and unjust rule which has recently become the talk of many—that pregnant students, irrespective of their age or marital status must forfeit their education.

Several nursing students from different institutions who have gotten pregnant have been forced to leave their education behind—not because of their inability to study or meet required performance, but by virtue of just being pregnant.

Apart from the recently reported story of “3 female students of the Nurses and Midwifery Training School, Mampong, Ashanti who have been denied opportunity to register and write their licensing Exams with the Nurses and Midwifery Council on grounds that they are pregnant,” GhanaCelebrities.Com also published an audio interview with another student yesterday, who has been kicked out of Jirapa Midwifery Training College in the Upper West region because she is pregnant.

And earlier today, SL monitoring team has been told that, a 32 year old beautiful student-Akosua Asantewaa Antwi of the Okomfo Anokye Nursing Training College has also been asked to leave her education behind for a year—for just being pregnant, when interestingly, the Principal of the college who expelled her is the man responsible for the pregnancy.

Speaking to Nhyira Fm, the principal stated among other things that; “a rule is a rule and no one is above a rule. I accept that I am responsible for Asantewaaa’s pregnant and I will do everything I need to do as a man for her and the child. But she cannot continue her education for at least a year because she is pregnant, even if it’s not impeding against her studies in anyway.”

Asked what would happen to himself, the one who got her pregnant, he said; “what do you mean? The rule is about women not getting pregnant and not men. Even if anything at all, I am not a student, she is. ”

Despite Ghana’s domestic laws prohibiting discrimination on grounds of pregnancy and gender—as well as various international human rights instruments including the UN Convention on the Elimination of  All Forms of Discrimination Against Women doing the same, such a discriminatory rule is in force at various Nursing Training Colleges in the West African country.