… Parents, students, JAMB candidates panic
… Unpaid salaries to be cleared—Abia Govt
The fear of medical students of Abia State University, Uturu over the withdrawal of accreditation by the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC) has been described as temporary setback by Governor Okezie Ikpeazu.
This is even as students who are currently studying medicine in the school and JAMB candidates who intending to study medical courses at the school, are praying for the withdrawn courses to be restored .
Also, several parents, whose children are studying medicine in the university appealing for re-accreditation of their faculty to escape the rumoured plans by the medical and dental council of Nigeria (MDCN) to also sanction the school.
The NUC had last week, withdrawn the accreditation it gave to the university, meaning that no fresh students would be admitted to study medicine in the school until the school regains her accreditation.
However, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu in a release he made available to newsmen through his Chief Press Secretary, Onyebuchi Ememanka, assured the university community and the Abians in general that the problems which led to the withdrawal of medicine accreditation would be resolved within one month.
The release said, “The loss of accreditation was solely as a result of the closure of Abia State University Teaching Hospital where student doctors are trained and has nothing to do with the technical and professional competence of neither the university nor the Teaching Hospital.”
“The withdrawal of accreditation affected only the medical school and not the Teaching Hospital. The implication of this is, the faculty of medicine of the university cannot admit new students while this situation subsists. This does not in any way affect students who are already studying at the faculty”, the State government explained.
Ememanka who pointed out that the Governor is highly committed to the taking ABSU medical school to enviable global height, explained that ABSUTH was visited by the NUC team at a time the school was still closed down by teaching staff over issues of non-payment of their salaries.
“The hospital was closed as a result of issues of arrears of salaries of workers. The NUC team visited a time the hospital was closed down.”
According to him, Ikpeazu was able to understand the whole reason for the NUC hammer after he held a closed door meeting with some selected medical professionals on the matter, assuring that Ikpeazu has promised to release the necessary funds within month , to remedy the situation.
Additionally, the Governor assured that henceforth, the salaries of the affected workers in the medical school would be paid as when due while the matter is to be resolved within one month.
But reacting to the withdrawal of accreditation, the Chairman of Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Abia State Chapter, Dr Chimezie Okwuonu blamed the withdrawal on non-payment of about 25-months salaries to resident doctors and some consultant doctors.
Dr Okwuonu lamented that the Abia State University Teaching Hospital was on strike cumulatively for 18 months because of non-payment of workers’ salaries and other unattended welfare packages.
He regretted that with the withdrawal, no new students would be admitted into ABSU to study medicine and surgery unless the accreditation is restored.
