Bauchi Assembly Raises The Alarm Over Rising Unregulated Health Training Schools

The Bauchi State House of Assembly has sounded the alarm over the unchecked spread of private health training institutions operating below standard across the state, warning that the trend poses a grave threat to public health.

The lawmakers’ concern followed a motion raised on the floor of the House during plenary by the Chairman, House Committee on Health and member representing Sade Constituency, Lawal Dauda.

Moving the motion, Dauda decried what he described as the mushrooming of private health training institutions allegedly operating without mandatory approvals from key regulatory bodies, including the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), the Community Health Practitioners Registration Board of Nigeria, and the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria.

He told the House that many of the institutions are located in unsuitable environments, lack qualified teaching personnel and operate with grossly inadequate facilities such as libraries, laboratories and student hostels.

“These deficiencies are dangerous,” Dauda warned, noting that graduates from such schools may be ill-prepared and incompetent to provide quality healthcare services. “This is not just an educational issue; it is a public health crisis in the making.”

The lawmaker further blamed weak enforcement of existing regulations and accused some proprietors of placing profit above patient safety, thereby exposing unsuspecting citizens to substandard healthcare delivery.

To him, Governor of Bauchi State has also expressed deep concern over the rising number of unauthorized health training institutions, stressing that their continued operation constitutes a serious threat to public health and safety.

Dauda therefore called for urgent legislative intervention to rein in the sector, strengthen regulation and protect the public from unqualified health personnel.

The House is expected to take further steps to engage relevant authorities as pressure mounts on the state government to sanitize the health training sector.