North-West states to shut down unlicensed private health schools

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The seven North-West states have vowed to shut down any private health training institution operating without full compliance with the requirements prescribed by law, in a fresh push to safeguard public health and flush out quacks from the region’s health sector.

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The pledge was made by the Chairman of the Northwestern States Commissioners of Health Forum, who is also the Jigawa State Commissioner of Health, Dr Abdullahi Kainuwa, while speaking during a stakeholder engagement held on Wednesday at the conference hall of the Jigawa State Ministry of Health in Dutse, the state capital.

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Dr Kainuwa said the decision by Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Jigawa and Zamfara followed a long period of calls for reforms in health training institutions across the country.

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“We can no longer allow substandard schools to produce health workers,” he told proprietors and stakeholders present.

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He stated that any private health training institution that failed to meet all legal and regulatory requirements would be closed down without hesitation, warning that “The law is clear. If you don’t have the requirements, we will shut you down.”

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According to him, the move was aimed at sanitising the sector and protecting communities from quackery.

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“This exercise is about safeguarding public health and ensuring that only qualified personnel are trained to care for our people,” he said.

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Addressing proprietors and representatives of existing private health institutions in Jigawa State at the engagement, Dr Kainuwa urged them to immediately commence compliance.

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

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The Commissioner stressed that the North-West forum was speaking with one voice on the matter and declared that, “No state will serve as a hiding place for illegal health schools. We will act together” he declared.

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Speaking to journalists shortly after the meeting, Dr Kainuwa explained that a joint monitoring team would be deployed across the seven states to inspect facilities.

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

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He noted that the action was driven by public complaints about graduates from some private schools lacking basic clinical skills.

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

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Also speaking at the event, the Chairman of the Taskforce on Private Health Training Institutions under the Jigawa State Ministry of Health, Isa Surajo, who is also the Technical Adviser to Governor Umar Namadi, outlined the taskforce’s mandate.

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

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The Technical Adviser said the idea behind the exercise was to restore public trust in health training in Jigawa and across the North-West.

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“We want our graduates to be accepted anywhere in Nigeria because they met the best standards,” he noted.

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He disclosed that the taskforce would soon begin the assessment of facilities, review of curricula and confirmation of instructors’ qualifications.

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“Schools without functional laboratories or qualified tutors will not pass,” he warned.

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He added that the process would be continuous and not a one-time event, stating that, “This is about building a sustainable system, not witch-hunting anyone.”

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However, proprietors at the meeting were warned and issued guidelines for the reaccreditation process. They were also given timelines to submit required documents to the ministry’s taskforce to avoid sanctions.

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Efforts by our correspondent to speak with some of the invited proprietors of private health training institutions from across Jigawa State after the meeting yielded no result, as all those approached declined to comment.

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The proprietors told the PUNCH correspondent shortly after the meeting that they would not speak until after completing the reaccreditation exercise.

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“We prefer to talk after we have put all our documents in order,” one proprietor said.

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