UENR May Not Admit Nursing Students for 2026/2027 as GTEC Suspends New Nursing Programme Approvals

The University of Energy and Natural Resources may not admit Nursing students for the 2026/2027 academic year following a directive from the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) suspending the accreditation of new General Nursing programmes across tertiary institutions.

GTEC, acting under the Education Regulatory Bodies Act, 2020 (Act 1023), announced that it will no longer receive, process, or consider applications for new General Nursing programmes at both diploma and bachelor’s degree levels until further notice.

According to the Commission, the decision forms part of efforts to align nursing education with national human resource priorities and improve the quality and specialization of healthcare training in Ghana.

GTEC indicated that while general nursing programmes have been suspended, institutions are encouraged to focus on specialised and undersubscribed areas of nursing.

These include Critical Care and Emergency Nursing, Paediatric Nursing, Oncology Nursing, Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, Geriatric Nursing, Nephrology Nursing, and Anaesthesia Nursing.

The Commission explained that these specialised fields are more aligned with current workforce gaps and are more likely to receive regulatory approval going forward.

GTEC further directed all tertiary institutions to comply with the suspension immediately and warned that no new applications for General Nursing programmes will be considered until further notice.

The directive was issued to heads of public and private tertiary institutions, with copies sent to key education and health sector stakeholders, including the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, and the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Institutions were advised to redirect their programme development efforts toward specialised nursing fields that meet national healthcare demands.

The development could affect admission plans at institutions such as UENR for the upcoming academic year, especially for General Nursing applicants.