Yakubu Busari
The Plateau State College of Nursing and Midwifery Vom will soon risk losing accreditation right of some courses over five years of securing the approval by the national council for the Nigeria Nursing and midwifery in 2018.
In an interview with journalists, the Provost of the college, Mr. Luka Dung Gaji disclosed that the college has suffered enough neglect since inception, the college had suffered the problem of inadequate office accommodation, manpower, non-approval of funds, hotel accommodation as well as major challenges affecting them.
He said, it is more dangerous when accreditation is issued and withdrawn or suspended in a college of nursing and midwifery which took them many years to acquire right because when they come for accreditation exercise and they discover problems that alone can affect the smooth approval earlier granted.
Gaji explained some of the college problems associated with non-approval of funds for infrastructural facing them and when memos have been sent in for money to be released for almost six years no Kobo was given to them the college is managing to survive.
Speaking about six years of Governor Simon Bako Lalong achievement in the college of nursing and midwifery, Mr. Luka Chung says the college has been comatose, we have to move up and down to ensure that academic activities succeed. We never secure a single Kobo, but when this administration came on board, we have written several memos which were not approved.
However, he added that the only except for accreditation of Basic Nursing and Basic midwifery in Jos and another accreditation exercise in Jos, where the college receive little unfortunately the money released came and we make use of it to secure professional accreditation which is to be lasting for only two years and that has expired.
And the remaining part has not been given and we have not received any kobo, but we just sort for money and conducted some important demand of the college knowing that the state government failed to release Money enable the college management to embark infrastructural development, we had not received but we successfully see the BASIC Nursing and Basic midwifery Jos but some requirements are still pending.
According to him, the governor has done credibly well, but all the memos written has not been released, we saw when the governor graciously granted our request, but up to now we have not received that he has done his own part so we promise to do the same as staff.
Mr Luka Chung reiterated that the staff are committed and they’ve demonstrated their zeal to work, since 2018 we have received recommendations as one of the four Basic midwifery in Nigeria and continue to maintain our academic standard so without the government the support we won’t achieve this task.
Even In the last examine, our students scored 100% it was sometimes last two years that we got 95% because we had two candidates that sat for it, however, the government has really supported the development the challenge now is to come out with the results.
Mr. Luka emphasized one of the critical areas, especially during the accreditation being one of the teams of accreditation in Nigeria, I have seen some schools compare to our own. We have deficiency we don’t any infrastructural buildings in this college.
We even wrote a memo for more building of classrooms and administration blocks the manpower is grossly inadequate because 1 staff to 10 in Basic training and post-Basic training 1-6 but when a memo was written to the government that we can’t meet the college Basic Midwifery, Nursing no answer till date.
He stressed that the post Basic training in Jos,1-6 which we approaching 60 slot for the college training in classes and since Basic midwifery should be converted to assist so far basic Nursing in Jos by calculation we admitted 86.
In Jos,1-28 that grossly inadequate and Basic midwifery 1-22, Nursing vom 1-32 with this if we go for accreditation then you ask yourself can we scale through so there is a lot of problems with manpower so we are calling on the state government to improve manpower.
Mr Chung says some of the college staff retired, some died and some not physically fit or whatever reason need replacement.
On the issue of infrastructure, we have staff problem of offices and by standard one person with staff are now hanging without any office due to lack of office the accommodation we are calling on the state government to kindly address it the issue of TSC returning back to us, we are very grateful, you can see we laid a foundation for over 200 capacity classrooms for students to increase admission slot to meet up the approval requirement of community Nursing and midwifery and we can’t start because manpower is absent.
Luka Chung noted that to commence the college newly introduce program became a serious challenge due, we can’t access the 62 million support funds back to the college to kickstart community Nursing and midwifery which is only five years when the program was approved.
He cautioned that with the outbreak of covid-19 pandemic and other diseases Nigeria needs to address the problem of maternal mortality ravaging our rural communities.
Luka decried that with the issue of transportation in rural areas where the health care facilities are not there, LGAs chairmen can send some of their students to the college.
The college provost lamented that in Nigeria they trained over 7500 yearly and out of the population 5000 leave the shore of Nigeria which make them move abroad.
He called on stakeholders to support them by saying we put aside our political differences for the betterment of youth, we need to develop Plateau state by partnering with local and international communities to provide health care needs of the growing populace.
Mr Luka Chung revealed that in no distance time the college would soon acquire the necessary requirement for a degree-awarding institution because they have a vision and mission to train their staff now undergoing PhDs, Master degrees, and the first degree to meet up the target.
We have the capacity to transform our society through dedicated manpower to harness the potential that we have on the ground.
