The Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu has complained that less than 5 per cent of qualified candidates who apply to read medicine in Nigeria Universities are able to secure admission which affects number of doctor-patient ratio of 1:3500? as against 1:600 of World Health Organization (WHO) standard.
He disclosed this in Lagos during the golden jubilee anniversary lecture tagged, ‘Medical Education in Nigeria, The Quest for World Standards and Local Relevance’ hosted by College of Medicine, University of Lagos.
In his examination of how the nation has fared in the training of medical personnel, he regretted that of the huge number of qualified candidates that put in for admission into various programmes in medical education, available institutions can only admit five per cent of the number, noting that the result is the poor posting ratio of doctor-patient currently standing at 1:350 against the WHO 1:600.
The minister who was the guest lecturer at the event stressed that there has been a steady increase in the number of accredited medical schools from one in 1948 to 30 in 2012, saying that majority of them do not have the capacity to absorb an annual intake of 100 students.
“Currently, the entire medical schools graduate between 3,500 and 4,000 new doctors annually. Of course, there has been a steady increase in the number if accredited schools from one in 1948 to 30 in 2012. However, majority of them do not have the capacity to absorb an annual intake of 100 students,” he said.
Chukwu lamented inadequate learning resources in medical schools such as libraries, video conferencing facilities and internet services, low teacher student ratio leading to overcrowded classrooms among others.
Speaking on the level of high professionalism of medical personnel trained locally, the minister ranked them among the best in Europe and America , noting that the country’s exports in the medical field are accepted and worked without doubt over their competencies in so many countries of the world.
He listed other challenges and constraints of medical education in Nigeria to include sole reliance on academic brilliance as the criterion for admission into medical schools, dearth of qualified and dedicated teachers, inadequate physical structures for teaching and learning like lecture theaters, auditoria, laboratories and operating theatres among others adequate preparation of students.