No fewer than 585 graduates have been presented for the various degrees at the 5th convocation of the University of Medical Sciences, Ondo city.
Presenting the graduates at a colorful event held on Thursday at the Odosida, the Vice Chancellor of UNIMED, Prof. Adesegun Fatusi noted that the graduates have satisfied the requirement of the institution in learning and character and are hereby presented for the awards of degrees of the University.
Prof. Fatusi who announced the breakdown of the graduates said 528 students finished from the undergraduate programmes and 57 from the postgraduate.
The statistics further showed that 19 students had first class (5.5%), 217 students with second class upper division (62.9%), 94 students with second class lower division (27.2%), and 15 students with third class honours (4.3%). The 57 graduands from the postgraduate programmes consist of 20 students with Postgraduate Diploma in Public Health, 7 students with MSc degree in Health Law and Policy, 12 students with MSc degree in Public Health, and 15 students with Master of Public Health (MPH) degree, and 3 with MSc degree in Medicinal and Organic Chemistry.
The Vice Chancellor also informed the audience that the University achieved more success during the last accreditation process
“I am pleased to report that our university secured the full accreditation of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) in 2023 for both our Medical and Dental programmes, without which our Medical and Dental students would not be graduating.
“In addition, our student admission quota for Medicine has been doubled from 50 to 100 initially and recently increased to 125. Also, the quota for Dentistry has been increased from 10 to 15. At the last Convocation, I reported an increase in our admission quota for Nursing Science from 75 to 150; our quota has now been increased to 200. We are pressing further with both MDCN and the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria for another increase in our admission quota in the face of the ever-increasing and huge number of applicants to our University for these programmes,” fatusi said.
He then thanked the State Government for the prompt release of funds for the actualization of the University’s goal.
“I sincerely thank the Ondo State Government for its support which has been instrumental to these achievements. I passionately plead with the government for the timely and full release of the N100 million allocation for accreditation in the current state budget to help us prepare adequately for the verification visits by the Council, the result of which would determine if our requests for increased admission quota would be granted or not,” he said.
A new postgraduate programme
“Our newly rolled-out postgraduate degree courses in Clinical Sciences fields have virtually instantaneously become the flagship programme in the country. These courses include MSc and PhD in Clinical Science, MSc and PhD in Community Medicine, MSc and PhD in Dental Science, MSc and PhD in Pathology Science, and, MSc and PhD in Surgical Science. We currently have about 40 specialist physicians in various Medical and Dental fields enrolled in the PhD programmes. We are excited to be partnering with the West African College of Surgeons in the implementation of the PhD programme in the Surgical Sciences and Dental Surgery. We are currently in discussions with the West African.”
Projecting into the future
The Vice Chancellor noted that the institution will pursue a 1,500-seater auditorium that would encourage large gatherings in the new year, adding that more infrastructural facilities would be put in place.
“This 500-seater hall in which we are holding this convocation is our biggest hall now. It is rather inadequate, and its size has become a rate-limiting issue in many ways. Thus, the construction of a 1,500- seater auditorium as soon as possible is imperative.
“There is an urgent need for the provision of facilities for electricity to facilitate the speed of the construction work being undertaken and to get the Main Campus ready for habitation as soon as any of the buildings under construction is ready. I wish to appeal to the state government to help us in this regard.
“Two dimensions of road development are urgently needed. The road development within the campus, and the road development between Laje Medical campus and the main campus. We would appreciate it if the relevant government agencies, including those responsible for rural road development, would give priority attention to the development of these road networks.
“150-seater lecture theatres: Five 150-seater lecture theatres along with teaching resources and materials are needed for more effective running of the University.
“The development of hostels, which will be disability-friendly, through public-private partnership is critical to ensure optimal campus life for our students.”
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