Federal University of Health Sciences, Azare (FUHSA) in Bauchi State has matriculated 760 pioneer students for the 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 academic sessions.
At the maiden matriculation of the school in Azare, the vice chancellor, Professor Bala Mohammed Audu said the university was established by President Muhammadu Buhari in June 2021 and the principal officers were appointed on 27th January 2022.
“Today, we are matriculating students into five academic programmes across seven faculties of medicine, dentistry, nursing, nutrition/dietetics and radiography. We matriculated 550 students for the 2022/2023 academic session and matriculated 210 students for the 2021/2022 academic session, totalling 760 students,” he said.
Audu said both the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) have given written authorisation to commence the admission and training of medical students with an initial intake of 100 students.
“So, today we shall be matriculating 70 medical students of the 2021/22 and 90 MBBS students of the 2022/2023 session.”
“In the same vein, we have matriculated 30 dental students of the 2021/22 and 50 students of the 2022/23 academic sessions following approvals by both the NUC and MDCN.
“We are matriculating 70 Basic Nursing (BNS) students into the 2021/22 and 2022/23 academic season respectively. This is the single most subscribed course so far. We are the second among the 13 universities in the northeast offering this course,” he said.
Audu said the university has also matriculated 30 and 70 radiography students of the 2021/22 and 2022/23 academic seasons, adding that there are two reasons why the university admitted few students despite over 10,000 applicants. This is because the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in conjunction with the NUC had given the university initial carrying capacity of 500 students.
Audu said, “All our programmes except nutrition, are professional health programmes that are further regulated by professional bodies that index the students. They also peg down the number of students that can be admitted based on criteria that are aimed at ensuring that the quality of training is maintained and improved upon. With what we have put in place so far of infrastructure, equipment and staffing, we look forward to getting increase in the number of students we can admit in the 2023/24 academic session.
“This is critical against the backdrop of the brain drain in the health sector, worsening doctor: patient ratio of 1;6000 (WHO 1;400) and Nurse: bed ratio 1:400 (WHO 1:40). With the help of regulatory bodies such as MDCN, specialised universities of health sciences such as FUHSA, have the potential to reverse these dismal ratios and comfortably export health professionals to the rest of the world using economically advantageous policies,” Audu said.
Audu said the institution has matriculated 20 and 150 nutrition students of the 2021/2022 and 2022/23 academic sessions respectively, adding, “The university is working with National Agricultural Land Development Agency (NALDA) and other partners to ensure we become an international hub through establishing an industrial park in nutritional products that is sustainable and competitive in both local and international markets.”
“No university in the north east is currently accredited for this programme. It holds a huge entrepreneurial potential, a springboard for nutraceutical and agripreneuraship. It is a means of sustainability and financial independence for the university, and we hope the graduates will be self- reliant and employers of labour rather than jobseekers,” the VC said.
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