NASS urges Medical & Dental Council of Nigeria to address the welfare of students abroad

By Urube Peter, Abuja

National House of Representatives adhoc Committee investigating the decisions of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, concerning the plights of Nigerian medical students in Ukraine, Sudan at the National Assembly complex in Abuja.

The ad-hoc committee which is chaired by Hon. Emil Inyang is to investigate the decisions concerning arbitrary charges in Nigerian universities as it relates medical to create an enabling environment for the students to decide whether or not to study abroad.

Inyang emphasized the need for medical council to be proactive enough to checkmate the excesses of Nigerian medical colleges charging the medical students rather find a way to encouraged them to study in the country.

In an interactive session with the registrar of the council, the officials briefed the lawmakers on some of the activities of the students in Ukraine ranging from their school fees, and training as well as their welfare in Ukraine.

Hon. Iyang stressed the need for a holistic approach in tackling all challenges faced by the medical students in Ukraine, adding that their complaints are numerous and therefore need an urgent approach.

He said the selection process of the students for admissions and their qualifications needs to be checked, adding that the amount of money paid as tuition fee and their training as medical students need to be verified.

Speaking earlier, The Registrar Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria Tajudeen Sanusi said that the council was able to checkmate the recruitment process which was wrongfully done by agents, and that their training in Ukraine was not in line with standard practice necessitating the need for the students to undergo training upon their return to Nigeria before given the license to practice.

The registrar queried the obnoxious tuition fees, feeding and general social welfare of students in the country promised to take it up with some of the institutions that are running the programs in the Ukrainian language so as to discuss the possibility of running same programmes in English for the benefit of Nigerian students, Dr Tajudeen said.

The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) is the professional association and registered for Nigerian doctors and dentists.
The NMA has more than 35,000 members from 36 state branches and the branch from the federal capital territory, including those registered in the diaspora.

NMA’s membership spans all six major specialties of Internal Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Paediatrics, Public Health and Laboratory Medicine/Pathology