‘We are tired of unfulfilled promises, only El-rufai can tell us the truth’ – Protesting KASU Medical Students By; Abdull-Azeez Ahmed Kadir, Kaduna.

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‘We are tired of unfulfilled promises, only El-rufai can tell us the truth’ – Protesting KASU Medical Students
 By;  Abdull-Azeez Ahmed Kadir, Kaduna.
Protesting Kaduna State University (KASU) Medical Students said they are tired of repeated unfulfilled promises by various functionaries of the state government over their three year stalled clinical studies and would never believe anything said by anyone to them until and except what Governor Nasir Ahmad El-rufai would say directly to them.
Speaking in an interview with New Nigerian at the gate of Sir Kashim Ibrahim (Government) House, Kaduna when they came on a peaceful protest, the student said they have spent three years without any progress as result of non availability of accredited facilities for their clinical studies while some of their colleagues they started same programme with in sister institutions are graduating.
“This condition has crippled our ambition as young individuals striving to study and contribute our quota in making Kaduna State and the nation at large great again. The situation has resulted to the most senior class now being stranded in 300level after spending five years in the university.
“The faculty is also currently faced with an ugly situation of having six sets of students; including the newly admitted, spread across 3 classes all due to lack of accreditation” the protesting students claimed.
But reacting to the students’ claims, the State Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Professor Andrew Nok said though the school got a mock accreditation under the previous administration, the effort put in by the El-rufai administration secured the full accreditation of the faculty by the National Universities Commission (NUC).
Nok assured that in six weeks time, the government was sure the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) would visit the university, inspect the facilities and would accredit the school faculty because of the state of the art equipment the government has procured and installed.
The commissioner said the government is treating the Barau Dikko Hospital as an emergency and the apprehension of the students may not be unconnected with the announced proposal by the government to sponsor thirty female students across the state for medical studies abroad. A move which he said was meant to populate most of the hospitals in the state with female Doctors as there are many females who do not allow male Doctors attend to them.
But the protesting students said the move is not ideal as the money that would be spent on the thirty students in foreign institutions can go a long way in completing the stalled Barau Dikko Hospital, get the accreditation and produce more of such female Doctors. They said they are not sure any promise from any other quarter aside from the Governor directly to them can hold water.
Nok however said series of meetings were held with the university authorities, contractors handling the project, representatives of the students and the ministry briefing all of the development and progress made.
This, the protesting students confirmed but added that at the meeting “it was resolved that by last week of October, 2015, the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria should be expected for an accreditation visit to the university. Like many promises in the past since the last administration, this was also not fulfilled.”
They added that their “hope is even more dashed by the apparent silence on this very important issue at public hearings and press conferences especially when issues concerning education and health are being discussed.
“The recent pronouncement by this administration to select and sponsor 30 female students from across the state for medical studies abroad also calls for concern as to whether we, the medical students of the faculty of medicine of Kaduna State University are of any value to the state. Though a commendable move, it has however rendered us hopeless as our situation seems not to be getting the necessary attention of the government”
Professor Nok however pleaded with the students, their parents and the public for patience as all hands are on deck to ensure all the obstacles are cleared and the students have smooth and professional clinical studies in line with the global best practices sooner than later. He said as parents, they too were not happy with the development.
In the face of all these explanations, the protesting students said only words from governor El-rufai direct to, and face to face with them can placate the situation.

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