Nine years after the College of Health Sciences of the Benue State University (BSU) took off, the College of Medicine is yet to be accredited by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN). The Teaching Hospital is still under construction.
Although medical programmes were introduced in 2003, the university managed to get the accreditation for pre-clinical courses two years later.
The MDCN has threatened to close down the college if it is not invited by BSU management for accreditation.
There has been a series of protests by medical students over the issue.
CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the development has delayed the graduation of pioneer students, and has kept others in the college without promotion to another level of study. Also, it was learnt that the authorities of the college, while trying to get accreditation, had to merge students in higher levels in order to admit fresh ones.
In February, the aggrieved medical students besieged the Benue State Government House to register their frustration over the inability of the government to prevail on the accreditation body to certify the programmes.
Clad in their white medical laboratory coats, the students, who were led by the immediate past president of Benue State University Medical Students’ Association (BESUMSA), Innocent Abah, blocked various entrances to the Government House.
The Chief Security Officer (CSO) to Governor Gabriel Suswam, who met the students, said the governor was not in town. He advised the students to return to the college, promising to notify them whenever the governor returned. The students were adamant, insisting on waiting at the entrances for as long as it took the governor to return.
Later, the CSO returned and led the students into the Banquet Hall of the Government House where the Deputy Governor, Chief Steven Lawani, spoke to them on behalf of Suswam.
Abah told the deputy governor that his colleagues were “depressed, unfocused and frustrated” over the inability of the university to get accreditation for its medical programmes.
Responding, Lawani told the students that the government was aware of what could happen if the Teaching Hospital was not ready on time and, had, therefore, given more attention to the project.
He said no one was more anxious to see the Teaching Hospital completed than Suswam. He assured the students that the government would not rest on its oars until the hospital was completed.
However, about eight months after, the Teaching Hospital is yet to be accredited. The development made the medical students to troop out last Wednesday to protest the inability of the state government and university authorities to fulfil their promises.
The students barricaded the two entrances into the college, insisting they must have collective audience with the Vice-Chancellor, the Provost of the college, the Chief Medical Director of the Teaching Hospital and Suswam.
A drama ensued when the VC, Prof Charity Angya, came to address the students. She was ignored by the students. She left and later came with the Provost, Prof Shima Gyoh, Chief Medical Director, Prof Orkurga Malu, and the Secretary to the State Government, Dr David Salifu.
The officials were booed by the aggrieved students, who insisted on seeing either Suswam or his deputy in person. The blockade continued on Thursday, paralysing activities in the college.
Arising from an emergency meeting last weekend, the university Senate directed the medical students to proceed on two weeks break to enable the management “sort out the problems.” Addressing the students, shortly after the meeting, Gyoh assured them that the management would do everything needed to enable it secure accreditation for the Teaching Hospital. He said the state government had provided resources to get the hospital ready.
Speaking on the development, Usha Anenga, a 400-Level student, who claimed to have been in the college for nine years, criticised the management for not sympathising with the students. He said students had always foreseen the failure of past accreditation visits. He accused the authorities of ignoring warnings by students in the past over the non-completion of the hospital for accreditation.
BESUMSA president Kawen Pededo, a 400-Level student, said his colleagues demanded to have audience with the governor because of the need to ensure the hospital did not fail the accreditation when the officials of MDCN visit the college again.
The College of Health Sciences, since inception, has only been able to secure the accreditation of a course — preclinical course. The failure of subsequent accreditation exercises led to the accumulation of batches of students in 400-Level.
The MDCN officials visited the college in June but they were not satisfied with what they saw. The body gave the college six months to fix some areas it found lacking. The deadline is approaching, and the fear of what might happen if the college fails again gripped the students. This made them to embark on the protest.
Following the directive that students should proceed on a break, the university authorities invited policemen to ensure compliance. At the time of filing this report, however, students were still in the hostels, insisting nobody could force them to leave during the break.
