Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Ondo State, has finally secured accreditation for the operation of its College of Health Sciences, five years after the process began.
The Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) granted the approval during a visit to the insitution on Wednesday.
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It also approved an admission quota of 100 medical students for the university.
The MDCN team was led by its Deputy Registrar, Nnameka Nwakanma, who communicated the accreditation to the management.
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During the visit and engagement with FUTA management, Mr Nwakanma expressed satisfaction with the level of preparedness demonstrated by the university.
He noted that the engagement was productive and emphasised the importance of aligning the college’s operations with the regulatory standards set by the council.
With the development, students of the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery programme heaved a sigh of relief having been stagnated for two years.
Speaking on the development at her office, the Vice Chancellor of FUTA, Adenike Oladiji, said the university management had worked diligently to put in place the necessary structures and facilities required for the accreditation.
“The university remains fully committed to excellence in medical education and is determined to ensure that all standards stipulated by the council are met and implemented in order to strengthen the College of Health Sciences,” she said.
Mrs Oladiji thanked the Deji of Akure Kingdom, Aladetoyinbo Aladelusi, for mobilising key leaders of the kingdom to contribute to the development of FUTA and the medical programme through the donation of multi-million-naira ultra-modern teaching laboratories and accommodation facilities for medical students to facilitate and enhance teaching and learning.
The Chief Medical Director of FUTA Teaching Hospital, Olusegun Ojo, described the approval by the MDCN as a landmark achievement.
“It’s a wonderful development that students have the hope to move forward. It’s a great achievement for the vice chancellor and the university. We thank God for everything,” Mr Ojo, a professor, said.
The MBBS programme started in 2021 but had not been able to proceed beyond 300L due to the lack of accreditation.
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Recently, students and some stakeholders took to the social media to voice their frustration, and in a bid to pressure the management to put more effort in moving the programme to the point of accreditation.
Last week, the management conducted the formal opening of multimillion naira medical laboratory and a hostel for the medical students.
This was in addition to the earlier takeover of the Ondo State Specialist Hospital by FUTA, which is fundamental to the training of medical students.
