E-Learning introduced to Midwifery Training

The Ministry of Health (MoH), with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded maternal and newborn survival programme (MCSP), has launched an e-learning programme for midwifery education in the country.

The new e-learning platform, skooolHE, provided by Intel to the Ministry of Health, is aimed at strengthening learning and teaching opportunities for students and their tutors in all midwifery schools in Ghana.

The easy-to-use programme which can be accessed both on and off-line enables modules or lessons to be uploaded on a platform that all participating schools can access in their computer laboratories or on student’s computers.

The lessons also provide students with the opportunity to learn on their own to supplement classroom learning in addition to tutors ensuring that students are using standardised and accredited materials.

Deputy Minister of Health, in a speech read on his behalf by Alexander Yaw Arphal, Director of Human Resources MoH, said the new initiative positions the ministry to take advantage of technology to expand healthcare to the people of Ghana.

He said prior to the partnership with USAID, the ministry’ quest to provide the required number of professionals to meet quality care was faced with the challenge of increasing intake without matching expansion in infrastructure and logistics in all the health training programmes.

“This contributed to the failure rate of 17 to 39 percent at the midwifery licensure examination,” he said.

Mr Arphal, therefore, mentioned that the introduction of the e-learning in midwifery schools is another giant and important step towards the quest to produce quality midwives.

The programme is expected to be scaled-up to all health training schools in the country in the next three years, following impressive results of an initial pilot project in six midwifery schools which was followed by a detailed feasibility assessment.

The results of the assessment indicate the students had no problem using the platform since it was easy to operate and very interactive.