History of Akwa Ibom State College Of Health Technology Etinan
The need for Professionals in the health sector became tense with the excitement, as interested and amplified manpower trained to man the health sector in the country and world at large are drawn from the health institution across the globe.
These led to the establishment of the school of health technology within the vicinity of Afang Itighe Isong in Ikot Ebiyak Village, Etinan Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State.
The School of Health Technology, Etinan was established rather hastily in 1988 out of the discarded premises of the rationalized School of Midwifery which itself had inherited the Nurses Preliminary Training School established by the Qua Iboe Mission in 1950 or there about. More so, the first admission was for the in-service from Ministry of Health (Nurses/CHEW).
The staff and the head of the school were mainly the white (Island and British) and manned by them until the Nigerian Civil War in 1967-1970. The Whites were evacuated and was managed by Blacks immediately after the Civil War.
A Thirty-one (31) year old institution of learning known for professional academic excellence has produced over fifteen thousand health workers to man the health sector.
The school was created for the displaced students and staff of Akwa Ibom State origin who had populated the then School of Health Technology, Calabar, which has since been upgraded to College of Health Technology with all the concomitants.
Boastfully, it can be said that the school was rehabilitated by the then Commissioner for Health and Chieftaincy Affairs, an indigene of Etinan Local Government Area Late Obong Enoch Udofia.
During Governor Obong Victor Attah’s Administration, Late Obong Enoch Udofia initiated the first Bill for the upgrading of the school to college. Following the approach from the Ministry of Health, the Host of Community of Ikot Ebiyak and Ikot Ebo had in 2004 donated a generous hectare of land behind the General Hospital, Etinan for its permanent site.
The story of College of Health Technology, Etinan to me is often being compared to the story of a newborn baby who has grown from the mother’s womb as foetus to a newborn. The baby begins the transformation from being a totally dependent to becoming an active and responsive infant.
The baby learns to coordinate new perceptive abilities (including vision, touch and hearing) and motor skills such as grasping, rolling over, sitting up, and may be even crawling. But as time goes on, the baby learns to stand up and later make some steps trying to walk.