The house of Representatives has called on the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) to give Special Quota Allocations to Nigerian Universities to Accommodate Admission of Interested Nigerian Medical Sudanese Students.
This was sequel to the adoption of a motion by a member representing Batsari/Safana/Danmusa federal Constituency in the house of Representatives, Honourable Aliyu Iliyasu Abubakar at plenary.
The Lawmaker stated that the recent crisis in Sudan has caused severe hardship to many Nigerian students studying in Sudanese universities forcing them to flee, abandon their academic pursuits and return home to seek refuge.
He said the Federal Government through the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission in conjunction with the Joint Admission Matriculation Board and National Universities Commission have declared that Provisions have been made to integrate Nigerian students into universities to continue their education;
He observed that the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) is empowered to regulate medical practice in Nigeria as well as allocate admission quota to Nigerian medical universities;
The Lawmaker said while promises have been made, returning medical students have noticed with utter dismay their inability to gain admission as a result of the quota allocation imposed by the Medical and dental Council of Nigeria;
He expressed concern that the failure of the returning Nigerian students to gain admission into Nigerian Universities and continue their academic pursuits could render them idle and frustrated and therefore pose a psycho challenge;
According to him, the non-admittance of the students constitutes an abandonment of the very core responsibility of the government to provide accessible education to its people, and therefore affirms that the federal government must do all it can to ensure a system is put in place such that they are easily absorbed into the various medical institutions across the federation.
Adopting the motion, the house urged the National Universities Commission (NUC) to fast-track the additional quota allocation to Nigerian Universities;
It also mandated the Committees on Health Institutions and Legislative Compliance to ensure compliance and revert within 4 weeks.
The motion was voted, adopted and referred to the House Committee on Tertiary Institution, Health Institutions, as well as that on Legislative Compliance when constituted.
COV/IBRAHIM SHEHU
