Northwest states move against substandard health schools

The seven states in Nigeria’s Northwest have agreed to jointly clamp down on private health training institutions that fail to meet statutory and regulatory requirements.

The decision covers Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Jigawa and Zamfara states and is aimed at improving the quality of health personnel produced in the region and tackling quackery in the healthcare system.

Jigawa State Commissioner for Health and Chairman of the Northwest States Commissioners of Health Forum, Dr Abdullahi Kainuwa, disclosed this on Thursday in Dutse during the inauguration of a screening committee for private health training institutions.

Kainuwa said the move followed concerns over institutions operating with inadequate facilities, insufficient academic staff and poor training standards.

He warned that the affected schools would be shut down if they failed to meet the requirements prescribed by law.

«“We can no longer allow substandard schools to produce health workers. The law is clear. If you don’t have the requirements, we will shut you down,” he said.»

According to him, the exercise is not intended to discourage private investment in health education but to prevent practices capable of putting patients and communities at risk.

“Government is not against private investment. We are against shortcuts that endanger lives,” Kainuwa stated.

He said the seven commissioners had agreed to work together to prevent operators of illegal institutions from exploiting differences between states to continue their activities.

“No state will serve as a hiding place for illegal health schools. We will act together,” he declared.

The commissioner said a joint monitoring team would be deployed across the seven states to inspect private health training institutions and determine whether they comply with regulatory requirements.

The inspection, he explained, would cover laboratories, clinics, tutors, admission procedures, curricula and other requirements for operating such institutions.

“We will verify labs, clinics, tutors, admission processes and all prerequisites. Anything short of standard will not be tolerated,” he said.

Kainuwa said the action was also driven by complaints from members of the public about graduates of some private institutions who possess certificates but lack basic clinical skills.

“The people have been calling for this. They deserve health workers who are properly trained and certified,” he added.

Also speaking, the Chairman of the Taskforce on Private Health Training Institutions under the Jigawa State Ministry of Health and Technical Adviser to Governor Umar Namadi, Isa Surajo, said the committee would carry out its assignment without favouritism.

“Our job is to inspect, verify and recommend. There will be no sentiment and no cover-up,” Surajo said.

He said the exercise would help restore confidence in health personnel training and ensure that graduates produced in Jigawa and other Northwest states meet standards required to work across Nigeria.

Surajo said the taskforce would assess school facilities, review curricula and verify the qualifications of instructors, noting that institutions without functional laboratories and qualified tutors would not pass the reaccreditation exercise.

He stressed that the monitoring would be sustained beyond the current exercise, saying it was designed to establish a system of continuous compliance rather than target proprietors.

Meanwhile, proprietors of private health training institutions were issued guidelines and deadlines for submitting documents required for the reaccreditation process.

They were warned that institutions that failed to comply with the requirements could face sanctions, including closure.