The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Southern Regional office in Bo has on Wednesday, 5th June, 2024 engaged lecturers and students of the School of Midwifery in Bo (SOMBO) in in order to shed light on illegal practices that continue to stifle the attainment of quality education in tertiary institutions. The engagement was held at the school’s conference hall in Bo.
Addressing the lecturers and students, ACC’s Senior Public Education Officer, Abdulai Saccoh called on the students to cultivate the tenets of integrity, transparency and accountability because they are the bedrock of their career. He underscored the indispensable role of midwives in the society and noted that it is a must for medical practitioners to imbibe proficiency and ethical standards.
Mr Saccoh singled out academic malpractices, payment for good grades, sexual exploitation, examination malpractice, collection of illegal fees for some lecturers by class representatives for good grade, lateness and absenteeism, among many others despicable acts, as having a profound impact on healthcare outcomes and the overall credibility of the medical profession. “You are entrusted with the most intimate and life changing moments of people’s lives, hence adherence to due processes and procedures must be non-negotiable,” he said. The engagement, he concluded, is a testament to ACC’s commitment to nurture a new generation of health professionals who are not only skilled, but ethically grounded to protect lives.
Speaking on certain offences and penalties in the Anti-Corruption Act of 2008 (as amended in 2019), ACC’s Residents Prosecutor, South, Nigel Davies, Esq. said that failing to uphold the duty of care and integrity in the medical profession can erode public trust, compromise patient safety and attract legal consequences. He noted that a fine of not less than Fifty Thousand (New) Leones (NLE 50,000) and or a jail term of not less than five (5) years of imprisonment or both can be levied on defaulters.
Mr Davies warned that such repercussions can ruin the individual and institutional reputation and therefore cautioned the students and school administration to abstain from acts of misappropriation of public funds and property, conspiracy to commit a corruption offence, academic malpractice, offering, soliciting and/or accepting advantage, etc. He admonished the participants to conduct themselves within the confines of the Nursing and Midwifery Council Act of 2023 because it is the legal framework that guides their profession.
Explaining the purpose of the meeting earlier, ACC’s Public Education Officer, Mohamed A. Kabba said the Commission will continue to undertake strategies that will fortify integrity values, ethical standards and professionalism in all sectors of national growth and development. He called on students and the school administration not to allow corruption of any nature to undermine the integrity of the school.
Mr. Kabba said that the Commission is using series of institutional approach to address systems weaknesses and administrative lapses in a bid to restore public trust and confidence in ministries, departments and agencies. He called on the students to reject, resist and report acts of corruption, and shared with them the Commission’s toll lines of 8515 (Afrcel), 077985985 or 077986986 to report suspected cases of corruption.
In her welcome statement, the Head of the School of Midwifery, Bo District, Patricia Juana Kamara stated that the ACC’s public education drive is a transformative approach which seeks to educate and shed light on illegal practices that continue to limit students’ ability to adequately learn and be dutiful to their medical profession. She added that knowledge shared on corrupt practices in schools can help change the perception and misconception they have regarding the fight against corruption. Students empowered with the implications of corruption related activities will know how to carry themselves in the dispensation of their lawful duty and responsibility, she said.
A question and answer session climaxed the engagement.
