Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) says that it is a public gaffe for the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to pronounce the postgraduate Medical and Dental fellowship as ineligible for the position of Vice-chancellor in Nigerian Universities.
President, MDCAN, Dr Victor Makanjuola, said the postgraduate Medical and Dental fellowship is the highest obtainable academic and professional qualification in clinical medicine and dentistry in Nigeria and is backed up by the act of the National Assembly (National Postgraduate Medical College Decree No of 67 of 24th September 1979, now Cap N59, Laws of the Federation, 2004).
Dr Makanjuola, in a release jointly signed by Dr Yemi Raji, the association’s secretary-general, reacting to a media statement credited to ASUU’s President, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, stated that there is no confusion between postgraduate Medical and Dental fellowship and PhD and neither can they be substituted for one another.
He declared that it was counterintuitive that postgraduate Medical and Dental fellowship is adequate for employment, promotion, teaching in the Faculty of clinical sciences and dentistry but would be found unsuitable for the position of vice-chancellor.
Dr Makanjuola said that the unguarded statement by Professor Osodeke calls to question, not only his leadership style but his scholastic competence as he is a “no show” in virtually all international academic platforms.He stated, “Attempts by Professor Osodeke and his cohorts to devalue the Medical and Dental fellowship to a sub-academic degree, exposes their sheer ignorance of medical education as well as deep animosity towards the medical profession.
“It is pertinent to state that an old, misguided circular by National Universities Commission (NUC), which Professor Osodeke and his cohorts are basing their unfounded argument on has since been withdrawn.
“Furthermore, it will be surprising that Professor Osodeke will claim to be unaware that the Lagos State University (LASU) Governing Council amended its earlier advert for the position of vice-chancellor to include the Postgraduate Medical and Dental Fellowship.
“The fellowship is the highest obtainable academic and professional qualification in clinical medicine and dentistry. The certification is issued by the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria, a postgraduate institution established by the Act of the National Assembly (National Postgraduate Medical College Decree No of 67 of 24th September 1979, now Cap N59, Laws of the Federation, 2004).
“It is still today the apex and only tertiary institution in Nigeria for postgraduate academic and professional education in clinical medicine and dentistry. The philosophy behind the establishment of this special postgraduate institution was because the founders of postgraduate clinical medicine and dentistry thought it fit to integrate both professional and academic training together, a feat that may be impracticable within the regular university system.
The dual nature is a peculiarity of medical education worldwide and is not peculiar to Nigeria.“We, therefore, advise Professor Osodeke to desist from exhibiting such uninformed opinion that has the tendency to cause division among the rank and file of ASUU membership.”
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