12/01/2016
UNIBEN to increase admission quota into medical school
If the plans by the management of University of Benin (UNIBEN) see the light of the day, candidates seeking admission into the university to study Medicine and Surgery, and their parents, will soon have every cause to smile. The cheering news was broken by the university authority, which said strategies had put in place to ensure the upward review of the admission quota into the medical programmes in order to avail applicants greater opportunities for admission.
The plan was followed last week with a visit and inspection of facilities at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) by the Vice-Chancellor Prof. Faraday Orumwense. The vice-chancellor was received at UBTH by the Dean of College of Medicine, Prof. Moses Mommoh; Prof Ambrose Isah, a Professor of Medicine and the President of UNIBEN Medical Students Association, Niyi Kolade, as well as Heads of Departments, who conducted him round facilities.
The facility tour was said to have begun at the Oba Akenzuwa Hall, the lecture halls for the 400-Level Medical students, where the vice-chancellor interacted with the students and encouraged them to work hard and apply themselves to effective learning in order to become competent doctors.
Meanwhile, he counseled them to desist from absenting themselves from their clinical postings, advising them to also make good use of the facilities in the hospital for their learning. The vice-chancellor and his team inspected the offices and seminar rooms at the Department of Medicine, Surgery, Medical Library, the Consultants Out- Patients Department (COPD) and the Institute of Child Health. Apart from these, Orumwense was also conducted round the Morbid Anatomy Laboratory, Blood Bank, Operating Theatre, Histopathology Laboratory, Child Health Department and the Accident and Emergency Centres.
Speaking at the end of the tour, the vice-chancellor said he was impressed at the level of infrastructural development at the Teaching Hospital, even as he commended the Chief Medical Director (CMD), Prof. Micheal Ibadin for showing a purposeful management. While lauding the members of staff of the hospital for their commitment over the years towards grooming the medical students, Orumwense revealed that the proposed increase in admission quota has become necessary, considering the fact that UNIBEN has become the most sought after medical school in the country.
His words: “Our admission policy of “Strictly Merit” has made us the most sought after. Every parent wants their children to become doctors and every student wants to come to UNIBEN. “Yearly, we are in a state of dilemma when it comes to offer candidates admission to medicine. Many candidates applied and passed the qualifying examination, but we stick to our policy of merit and admit the best 100 students.
This has really not been easy. With an increase in the admission quota, more students will be given the opportunity of actualizing their dreams of becoming medical doctors and studying at the university.” According to Mommoh, the current doctor-patient ratio in the country is a far cry from the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation.
He said: “There is need to increase the number of doctors in the country, though Nigeria has trained many doctors, and most of them have left the shores of the country looking for greener pasture. However, UBTH has become a first choice teaching hospital in the country, where we have all specialties in medical practices and specialties in Neurosurgery, Plastic Surgery, Fetal Medicine while we pioneered Stem Cell Transplant for Sickle Cell Anaemia patients.”
