The National Universities Commission (NUC) has upgraded some medical-related academic programmes in Nigerian universities and changed their nomenclatures from bachelor’s degree (BSc) to doctor’s status.
The NUC listed the courses affected as Pharmacy, Physiotherapy and Optometry degrees.
According to a statement by NUC’s Acting Director of Public Affairs, Franca Chukwuonwo, students studying the affected courses will now spend six years in school instead of the five years it used to be.
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New nomenclature
The statement indicates that under NUC’s Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards (BMAS) and Core Curriculum Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS), the affected programmes will now earn their degrees as Doctor of Pharmacy, Doctor of Physiotherapy, and Optometry (O.D Doctor of Optometry).
The statement noted that the decision was driven by the need to incorporate more clinical and practical sessions, provide sufficient coverage of foundation courses, improve clinical skills and cover all speciality areas.
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It added that the new development also seeks to align with global best practices applicable to training professionals in these medical-related programmes.
The statement reads, “Furthermore, the certificates obtained from the Nigerian university system can be at par with those obtained in similar programmes from other climes.
“This will ensure the requisite harmonisation, mutuality and global competitiveness of Nigerian graduates in terms of certificates evaluation, employability and further studies in the relevant disciplines.”
Medical Laboratory Science remains
The NUC, however, clarified that the degree for Medical Laboratory Science (MLS) remains a Bachelor’s degree and has not been upgraded.
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“The general public and all stakeholders are hereby informed that the Doctor of Medical Laboratory Science (DMLS) programme does not exist in the NUC’s BMAS or CCMAS and thus has not been captured as an upgraded programme,” the statement added.
“Consequently, the DMLS programme is not approved in any university in the country.”
