The Senate called on the Medical and Dental Council to conduct examinations in the six geopolitical zones like the Nigerian Law School.
The Senate has called on the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria to allow foreign students from war-torn countries with Certificates to sit for their professional exams.
It also called on the Committee of Vice Chancellors to take in foreign students who fled the war-ravaged countries to enable them to finish their programs.
These resolutions were a sequel to the adoption of a motion sponsored by Senator Oyewumi Kamorudeen Olarere (PDP, Osun West).
In introducing his motion, Olarere recounted how a few foreign medical and surgical graduates stormed his office during the recess, claiming the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria was discriminating against them.
Senator Samaila Dahuwa Kaila (PDP, Bauchi North) stated in his contribution that there was nothing wrong with assessing graduates from foreign universities.
He said there was nothing new for assessing students who graduated from foreign universities since he had passed the assessment after earning his degree from a Bulgarian university in 1988.
“We all passed through the same process, having passed out of a Bulgarian University, we were assessed and worked till we retired.
“I am not saying we should bend the rules and it is a global practice and so they should be assessed based on our standard.”
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In his remarks, Senate President, Godswill Obot Akpabio addressed two issues in his speech: first, some foreign students fled the war-torn Ukraine and even Sudan; second, some finished their education and received certificates, not those who left school in the middle of their studies.
In response to this question, Olarere made it clear that the purpose of his motion was to allow foreign students who have finished their courses to follow the council’s rules and due process.
The Senate, thereafter, urged the Council to allow those who graduated from Ukraine in 2023 and other countries affected by war with certificates to sit for the MDCN examination in July and November.
It further urged the Committee of Vice Chancellors should allow Nigerian students of Medicine and Surgery and other professions who fled from war-torn countries to be absorbed into Nigerian Universities to complete their various studies.
