The Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), the organisation in charge of approving medical programmes in Nigerian universities, has approved the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) programme at the state-owned Bayelsa Medical University.
The approval allows medical students at the university to take Part One of the MBBS examination.
Dr. Nnaemeka Nwakanma, MDCN deputy registrar, revealed this while leading an 11-man delegation on a two-day inspection and accreditation visit to the institution at Governor Douye Diri’s Government House in Yenagoa.
Dr. Nwakanma expressed pleasure with the young medical institution’s performance and revealed that the MDCN has doubled the MBBS admission quota per session from 50 to 100 students. He applauded the state government and the BMU for their efforts to raise the institution’s standards.
He praised the Bayelsa government’s ownership and funding of two medical schools and urged it to, among other things, revive the BMU teaching hospital project, provide buses for the institution, continue to employ qualified personnel, build more laboratories, and complete the satellite campus in Sampou.
The MDCN’s top official also congratulated Governor Douye Diri for his administration’s apparent developmental progress, notably in infrastructure.
Governor Diri responded by thanking the council for its objective appraisal of the institution and administration, stating that he was resolved to carry out the mandate of the people of the state.
Senator Diri stated that more initiatives would be carried out at the university and that the shortcomings raised by the council would be rectified before its next visit.
He also praised the MDCN for establishing a high standard for medical schools in Nigeria, stating that their efforts have enabled Nigeria to graduate quality medical personnel who are highly sought after around the world.