Japa: Federal Government Urges Universities To Produce More Doctors

The Federal Government has directed universities to begin to admit more students into Medicine and Surgery as a strategy to address the shortage of manpower in the health sector occasioned by the relentless exodus of health workers abroad in what has been termed japa.

The Vice Chancellor, Nile University, Prof. Dili Dogo, revealed the Federal Government’s directive in a statement on Thursday by the varsity. The statement made available to The PUNCH quoted Dogo as saying Nile University would increase medical students’ admission by 100 per cent in compliance with the Federal Government’s directive to universities.

The VC said; "We graduated the first set of medical students this year and the Federal Government has requested an increase in the number of medical students to cater for the migration of doctors due to the “Japa’ syndrome.

To that effect, we are admitting 195 students into our medical programme, representing an increase of 100 per cent over that of last year.” Dogo said Nile University had made a heavy investment in infrastructure to guarantee qualitative training.

“In our pursuit to ensure sound educational competence for our students, Nile University has invested heavily in infrastructure. In addition to the existing academic infrastructure commissioned last year, we will be commissioning new facilities, including a STEM laboratory complex. This will be the only state-of-the-art, purpose-built STEM laboratory in the country.

“We are also constructing a medical simulation centre, the first of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa. This will bridge the gap and promote the best medical and clinical practices. When completed, it is going to house nine suites of high-definition mannequins that will provide the necessary skills for the training of medical students,” he added.