The Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, has denied that the University’s College of Medicine compelled its students to sign an undertaking of continued studentship due to unavailability of instructional and technical facilities to train medical students.
This online medium had earlier reported that the university reportedly compelled its 300-level Medicine and Surgery students to sign an undertaking to continue to pay school fees for an additional 18-month programme while they wait for available slots to progress to 400-level.
The stringent undertaking, a copy of which SaharaReporters obtained on Wednesday, had stipulated that after completing Part 1 Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) Professional Examinations, students must undertake an 18-month intercalated Science programme in Anatomy or Physiology within the College of Medicine.
But reacting in an official statement signed by the University’s Head of Corporate Communications and Protocol, Otunba Aladenika, the university management explained that the undertaking was a product of understanding between the Management of the Medical College, the concerned students and the body of parents on how best to address a lingering status of the affected students within the University which was brought to the attention of the present University Management.
According to him, “There are about 419 (Four Hundred and nineteen) students in the pre-clinical programme in the University who are products of irregular admission by previous University Administration.
“The Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) is unable to index them because our admission quota for the medical programme has long been filled up due to the ‘irregular admission’ reason given above.”
Aladenika further explained that “Before these students can have space in the Clinical training phase of the medical programme, they will have to wait for between 8 to 10 years.
“The Medical Council had advised the College Management to send these students away to other programmes where there are spaces. However, after a series of pleas and meetings between the College Management and the students as well as some parents, agreements were reached to grant a kind of soft landing for these students.
“The students said they were ready to wait for as long as it would require for them to start their clinical programme. Agreements reached with the students were as follows:
“That they be allowed to write their 1st professional exams and then use the result to transfer to clinical programmes in other Universities if they pass the exams.
“Those who are unable to transfer should be transferred to other related programmes in the College of Medicine such as Human Anatomy and Human Physiology.
“After obtaining a degree in either Human Anatomy and Human Physiology, they would be given priority whenever there are spaces in the clinical programme.
“The students are to ensure that they pay their fees during this bridging period.”
He stated that when these agreements were reported verbally to the University Management and the Special Intervention Team, the College Management was advised to put the “agreement into writing and ensure that the students have input in this as well as sign an undertaking to give proper backing to that effect so as to guard against any form of arbitrariness, future denial, blackmail or recant.”
This according to the spokesman was supposed to be a last-ditch effort to salvage their ambition of becoming medical doctors.
The Head Corporate Communications and Protocol, further said, “The arrangement offers the affected students the opportunity of having two degrees upon graduation.
“It may also interest you to know that while detractors, enemies of growth and progress of the students and the University are attempting to make a mountain out of a molehill, the affected students have signed the undertaking freely and willingly, and their programme is making progress. The First Professional exams have since commenced,” Aladenika said.
