Medical Students Evacuated From Ukraine Should Be Absorbed Into Nigerian Universities, Reps Say

The House of Representatives is asking for the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) to allow final-year medical students that had completed their examinations in Ukraine before the start of the invasion, to register themselves with the council.

In addition, the lower legislative chamber wants the fifth-year medical students that were evacuated from Ukraine to be absorbed into Nigerian medical schools to complete their studies. During a plenary session on Tuesday, the resolution was passed following the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Tajudeen Yusuf from Kogi.

On the 17th of June, the MDCN stated that it would not honour any medical and dental degrees from Ukrainian universities that were obtained from 2022 “until when normal academic activities resume”.

The MDCN has advised that “students who are currently studying medicine or dentistry in Ukranian medical schools to seek transfer to other accredited medical or dental schools in other countries for the completion of their programmes. In addition, Council’s attention has been drawn to information that some students are carrying out online medical training being organised by schools in Ukraine, China and some other countries. For the avoidance of doubt, Council categorically states that online medical training done in any part of the world is short of an acceptable standard and is not recognised by the MDCN.”

As his motion was being moved, Yusuf said that some of the students have either “completed or are still on the mandatory clinic attachment which commenced in April 2022”.

Read Also: Medical certificates from Ukraine no longer recognised –MDCN

“Contrary to the impression the MDCN is creating, the vast majority of these students either in years 3 to 6, only did online study/training for a few months in 2020 due to COVID-19 which happened all over the world, and in the past three months as a result of the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia. There are thousands of Nigerian youths studying medicine and related courses in Ukrainian universities, who by the MDCN regulation would not only be affected but their academic pursuits may be thrown into serious jeopardy.

“The bulk of these medical students having spent between four to six years in the pursuit of their respective academic and professional ambitions, going by the MDCN regulation, are at serious risk of not only losing these years of rigorous training but huge financial losses to their parents.”

According to the legislator, the position of the MDCN will “truncate the academic dreams and professional ambitions of thousands of Nigerian medical students in Ukraine” as a result of the policy.

He stated that the MDCN’s position should not be allowed to stand since the country faces a shortage of medical personnel, and that the situation could get worse if the MDCN rolls out “an insidious policy that may have debilitating consequences on the nation’s health sector”.

The motion was approved by voice vote after Femi Gbajabiamila, speaker of the house, put it to a vote. Subsequently, the house had asked the council to “allow students in the fifth year of their medical programmes in Ukraine to be absorbed into medical schools in Nigerian universities to complete their sixth year”.