Over a hundred graduates of medicine and surgery (MBBS), and dentistry (BDS) at the University of Ibadan who got inducted into the Medicine and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) in December 2022 are stuck, as the university management has failed to present their certificates.
For graduates of medicine and dentistry, induction into the MDCN is not usually the end of the road, as inductions alone do not grant them a hitch-free transition into professional doctors.
What seals their fate is their permanent licences, and this can only be granted by the MDCN when these graduates tender the certificates presented to them by their university.
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FIJ learned that the class 2022 graduates of the UI medicine and surgery, and dentistry numbered 208 at the time of induction, but only 75 of them have received their certificates, leaving the remaining 133 graduates of the class stuck.
Not only are they stuck but the non-issuance of certificates hinders them from getting their permanent licences, applying to postgraduate schools, sitting for professional exams and going for the compulsory one-year National Youth Service (NYSC).
Ambrose (not real name), one of the affected graduates, told FIJ that many graduates of his set had been in unofficial communication with some staff members of the university management regarding their plight but they had only kept asking them to return the following months.
“Upon induction, we were given a provisional licence, which allowed us to do our one-year housemanship. After the housemanship, we were supposed to receive permanent licences from the MDCN, but there is no way we can get them without our certificates from the school,” he said.
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“Many of us finished our housemanship in December last year, and we have been going to the school individually to get our certificates, but they keep telling us to come back the following month. We thought only a small population of us were affected until we realised it was more than half of the class.”
He also told FIJ that he and other affected graduates selected some representatives who met with the university’s deputy vice chancellor (DVC) to plead their case but they did not get any reason why their certificates were not ready.
Although no explanation was given, they were asked to write the names of the affected graduates. The DVC promised to send the manes to the MDCN to seek the council’s help in granting them another provisional licence that would enable them to apply for NYSC.
This seemed like a solution to their plights, but it was inadequate. FIJ learned that the submitted list was not comprehensive and only about 60 names were included in the list.
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“We can only go for service if the MDCN provides us with another provisional licence. People who want to work as professional doctors, sit for foreign professional exams and apply to schools abroad are still excluded. The non-issuance of certificates is hindering us from doing so many things,” said Ambrose.
Apart from meeting with staff members of the university management, some of the affected students have written letters to the university management on different occasions.
In one of the letters that was written to the university management, one of the affected graduates lamented professional stagnation.
“Many of us have successfully completed our housemanship, demonstrating our dedication and commitment to the medical profession. However, despite our qualifications and readiness to serve, we are experiencing professional stagnation,” the letter read.
“The Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria requires the university certificate and not just a statement of result for the issuance of a permanent licence. Unfortunately, the unavailability of our certificate has created an insurmountable barrier, preventing us from obtaining the necessary credentials to progress in our careers.”
While speaking with FIJ, another graduate stuck in limbo said that the university was wasting people’s lives.
“One of us got an opportunity to study at two universities in the USA for his masters, but there is no admission to tender. Many of us have lost golden opportunities. It is affecting our mental health. We are stuck. UI is just wasting our lives,” he lamented.
Olayinka Omigbodun, the Provost of the UI College of Medicine, did not respond to the text messages sent to her by FIJ on Saturday. She also failed to respond to calls.
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