Lara Adejoro
The Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria has described the exclusion of medical and dental lecturers from vying for the vacant office of the Vice-Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, as unjust and undermining.
The MDCAN made this statement in a press release signed by its National President, Prof. Muhammad Muhammad, and its Secretary-General, Prof. Daiyabu Ibrahim, on Tuesday.
MDCAN is the umbrella body of all Medical and Dental Consultants working in government hospitals and universities.
The association was reacting to the advertisement by the university announcing the vacancy for the position of vice-chancellor, which excluded medical and dental lecturers from applying for the position.
Some of the requirements listed for the position include that the candidate must hold a good first degree, a master’s degree, and a PhD in relevant fields offered by the university; be a distinguished professor with at least nine years of experience at that rank at a reputable university; have obtained a PhD at least 15 years before the advertisement; have supervised postgraduate students to completion; demonstrate a proven track record of securing substantial research funding, including attracting no less than N400 million; and have a history of obtaining research grants and other resources to enhance the university’s research capabilities, recorded before the advertisement.
MDCAN, however, stated that its members offer specialised medical and dental services in various hospitals and are also the repository of Medical and Dental Education in the country, as they are the teachers of all undergraduate medical and dental students in various Colleges of Medicine (or Colleges of Health Sciences) situated in different universities.
It noted that its members teach in the Faculties of Basic Clinical Sciences, Clinical Sciences, and Dentistry, with graduates awarded the MBBS/MBBCh/BDS degrees, among others.
The statement noted, “The MDCAN expresses its deep concern regarding the exclusion of Medical and Dental Lecturers based on the criteria used in the recent advertisement for the selection process for the vacant office of the Vice-Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State. This exclusion is not only unjust but undermines the critical role that Medical and Dental Lecturers play in the academic and administrative leadership of the institution.
“Medical and Dental education is a vital part of the University’s mission to produce competent healthcare professionals who contribute to national and global health systems and security. As such, Medical and Dental Lecturers must be given due representation in matters that concern the governance and future of the institution. The exclusion of Medical and Dental Lecturers, many of whom are distinguished scholars and administrators with vast experience in both the academic and clinical fields, sends a message that their contributions to the University’s growth and development are undervalued.
“Such a move could lead to a breakdown in academic collaboration, reduce morale among Medical and Dental Lecturers, and ultimately affect the quality of Medical and Dental Education at UNIZIK.”
The association called on the Governing Council of UNIZIK and other stakeholders to withdraw the earlier advertisement for the selection of the Vice-Chancellor and ensure that all academic disciplines, particularly the Medical and Dental Lecturers, are well represented.
“This call is in the best interest of maintaining the University’s status as a centre of excellence in Medical and Dental education and ensuring a balanced and all-inclusive leadership selection process.
“The MDCAN leadership and all members remain committed to supporting academic excellence and leadership in Nigerian universities and urge a swift resolution to this issue. We are equally monitoring the situation at UNIZIK in this regard, and we fully support the current steps taken by our members at UNIZIK on the issue. We hope the situation will not be allowed to degenerate into a national crisis,” it added.
The MDCAN had embarked on a strike to protest the exclusion of its members from vying for the vacant vice-chancellorship position of the school.
Earlier, the President of the UNIZIK Medics Alumni Association, Prof. Evaristus Afiadigwe, stated that the alumni had written to the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council regarding the matter, noting breaches in the requirements.
Afiadigwe stated, “We had held a meeting and made the following observations that are very key to this press conference. One is that there were many breaches of the provisions of the Act of the University as made in 1992 and the amendments subsequently. Notably, the Council is mandated to specify the qualities of the candidates that would be appointed as the Vice-Chancellor, but erroneously, the advertisement, as we have it, focused on the minimum skills and personal achievements which are not supported by law.
“The second is the discriminatory requirement that the advertisement excluded members of the medical professions. We all know that medical professionals grow in their training and careers, running a six-year MBBS; if you are able to pass the entrance exam, you enter residency training and you stay six to ten years depending on the course. After that, you may get employed in the university if you want to be in academics, and you continue to grow, do your promotions, and then you become a professor.
“This advertisement did not recognise this fellowship as a qualification to vie for the office. That is very unfortunate. In the university where the first Vice-Chancellor was a medical fellow, we now have many medical graduates and medical professors in various fields, and people who possess medical fellowships are now excluded from contesting the position. Instead, they stipulated the position of a PhD. A PhD applies to other academic professionals or disciplines, and we know that a PhD is a four-year course, at most three to four years. In some places, it could be shorter, and then you are excluding somebody who did a six to ten-year programme, and we are all lecturers.”
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