Nasarawa University launches first medical geology degree programmes

The management of Nasarawa State University Keffi (NSUK) announced on Thursday that the institution’s Jose Centino International Centre for Medical Geology (JacMedGeo) Research has begun the world’s first medical geology postgraduate studies.

Dr. Kitso Nghargbu, Director of Linkages and International Cooperation at the University, confirmed the development to reporters in Keffi, the state’s local government area.

According to Dr. Kitso, a medical geologist, medical geology is a multidisciplinary field and a new discipline, which is why no other tertiary institution in the world offers it.

“It is very young. The first text book in medical geology was published only in 2005. So it’s an emerging discipline and NSUK and by extension Nigeria, Africa has trailed the blaze.

“We have become the pace setters in running degree programs at the Post Graduate Diploma level, Masters Level and Doctorate level as far as the whole world is concerned.

“So it goes beyond being the first in Nigeria and translates to being the first in the whole world,” he said.

Dr. Kitso, assured that the institution has made available a curriculum that has been prepared, assessed and approved by relevant education authorities hence the reason why the Senate of the university approved the commencement of the degree programs.

“So the curriculum has been prepared. It has also been peer reviewed by founding fathers of medical geology, by the best experts in medical geology research in the whole world.

“This center that has just been established -the Jose Centino International Centre for Medical Geology Research, NSUK is a project of the International Medical Geology Association at the global level supported by several scholars and researchers within the health and environment spheres,” he added.

He explained that for the Post Graduate Diploma in the discipline will take 18 months to complete while for the Masters Degree, it will take 24 months and completing the Doctorate Degrees program takes a maximum of 48 months.

“Admissions have started and it starts with the adverts. In the next eight weeks forms will be on sale. Then we take two weeks to shortlist. Then another three weeks for resumption and registration,” he said.

He also assured that there was enough manpower to handle the discipline in the institution with about 32 faculty members from across the world who are experts in the field of medical geology.

“Just yesterday the Deputy Minister of Technology of the Islamic Republic of Iran wrote to us that he wants to be a part time lecturer in this centre.

“So manpower is adequate. So I want to assure you that even before we started sale of forms yesterday we had indication of interest from over ten countries. So its going to be a foremost international research centre,” he said.

He then defined Medical Geology as the study of geological processes and materials with processes referred to earthquakes, volcanoes, climate change activities, flooding, tsunamis and all other forms of disasters geologically induced and sometimes caused by man.

“When you talk of materials, you talk of minerals, rocks, mineral waters or medicinal waters which are beneficial to man. So it’s a study of those geological processes that impact on man and his environment,” he said.