days ago which stated that medical students
in Nigeria would henceforth spend 11 years in
universities before obtaining an MBBS degree,
the National Universities Commission (NUC)
has officially denied the reports.
According to the Executive Secretary of NUC,
Prof. Julius Okojie, the reports are baseless
and false.
He stated that the new Benchmark Minimum
Academic Standard (BMAS) for Medicine and
Dentistry, which had since been made public
by commission, only provides for a seven-year
training, leading to the award of MBBS/MDS.
Okojie said: "A seven year MBBS programme
that encompass a seamless four- year
acquision of the B.SC. Basic Medical Science
with interest in either Anatomy/Physiology/
Biochemistry.
"At the end of seven years, students would
have acquired the Bachelor of Medical
Science, Bachelorof Medicine and Bachelor of
Surgery degrees. In case of dental
programmes, students would have acquired a
degree in Basic Dental Sciences and Bachelor
of Dental Surgery.
He continued: "The idea that the curriculum
change was effected to enable the students
mature psychologically for the profession is
baffling and ludicrous. I am not aware that
ability to cope with the rigorous and laborious
training offered in medical schools is
dependent on the age of the students.
Available evidence does not suggest that.
Seriously, I don’t think you have to be a
grandparent to study medicine or dentistry in
Nigeria or other parts of the world.
"Indeed, while I admit that there is need to
dynamically improve and modify the current 6-
year medical/ dental training curriculum in
Nigeria to make it an all-encompassing
curriculum, capable of producing medical and
dental practitioners that are responsive to the
21st century needs of their communities, I
must however state that this improvement
does not necessarily require an increase in the
duration of medical and dental education/
training in Nigeria.
"Beyond the quality and content of the
medical/dental curriculum and the need for
regular dynamic reviews, a lot of factors
impinge on the quality of medical/dental
education/training and the quality of medical
practice in Nigeria. These factors will need to
be holistically and effectively managed to get
the best out of medical/ dental education in
Nigeria. For instance, the quality and number
of entrants into medical school is very
important.
"Therefore, before such pronouncements are
made and circulated in the news media, I
expect the policy regulators to have deeply
reflected on its pros and cons before seeking
to experiment with it. I expect them to
appropriately balance the benefits with the
cost, with both the quality of medical
education/ practice and the health of
Nigerians taken into good account.
"Pending further clarifications from the NUC
on the news story making the rounds; it is
crystal clear that any policy that seeks to
increase the duration of training to 10 or 11
years will be an arduous one that bristles with
reverberating and convulsive implications", he
concluded.
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