Hundreds of Medical Laboratory Science students of the Imo State University, Owerri have cried out over what they described as the failure of the institution to facilitate their indexing for professional examinations with the Medical Laboratory Council of Nigeria, which will aid their induction and practice.
Findings by South-East PUNCH showed that a crisis is brewing over the delay of IMSU to register the students who studied and are studying Medical Laboratory Science for qualifying council examinations due to overpopulation, as the five-year course has stretched over to seven years with no end in sight.
This is even as the university authority has said it has reached out to the MLCN to allow them to clear the backlog of students which they blamed on repeated appeals by Imo people to grant their wards admission for the course.
As it is now, the students cannot be inducted because they have not been certified, neither can they go for the mandatory one-year national youth service, and they cannot practice because they are not certified as fit to practice.
Several students of IMSU studying Medical Laboratory Science said they can’t write the council qualifying examinations because of the failure of the institution to register them for the council index for eligibility to write the qualifying examinations.
Affected students who pleaded anonymity for fear of any unforeseen backlash from the university authority alleged that the approved quota for Medical Laboratory Science at IMSU is 120 students per session, but the class of 2018 that graduated in 2023 currently has over 350 students, even as other levels have the same issue.
A source, who is a student of the Medical Laboratory at IMSU, who also pleaded anonymity for fear of reprisal, told South-East PUNCH reporter that the varsity’s Medical Laboratory Department is currently experiencing severe overpopulation, which had significantly disrupted academic progress.
He said many of them had graduated for eight years now without being inducted by the Medical Laboratory Council of Nigeria, adding that the implication was that they were not licensed to practice and couldn’t proceed with their National Youth Service Corps scheme.
He said, “It is not that the students failed or did anything wrong, but the school failed to keep to the agreement with the council in admitting a certain number of students (120). Rather they over-admitted, and it has made the council turn its back on us. But the MLCN on the other hand is inducting other students from other schools that have the same issue as us, but it has refused to do the same for us.”
The students alleged that over 1000 students have paid more than ₦145,000 each, but still to no avail, even as the latest news was that the set that graduated since 2023 will be inducted by 2027.
The students said they proposed that the department cancel fresh admission to ensure they clear the backlog, schedule that council examinations be conducted in batches of 110 students and that there will be a one-year interval between the first and second professional exams for each batch, but their suggestion was turned down.
IMSU spokesperson, Dr Ralph Njoku said that already, the Vice Chancellor in the company of the Dean of Science Faculty, and the Head of the Department of Medical Laboratory Science have already met with the authorities of the MLCN to clear the students’ backlog.
Njoku who blamed the staggering number of yet-to-be-indexed students on the repeated appeals for admission by Imo people said the MLCN Secretary promised to work out something, adding that IMSU management was awaiting the response of the council over the issue.
Dr Njoku said, “It is not as if the school management is not doing anything but the students on their part seem not to appreciate the efforts, a situation caused by their parents seeking admission for their children to study the course.
He added, “Already, the VC alongside the Dean of the faculty, and the HoD of the department travelled to Abuja to meet with the MLCN authorities. The Secretary assured us that they will work out something and get back to us. We are still waiting for them to get back to us over the issue.
“In the past, we had the same issue with medical students, but they have all been cleared and have since graduated. The students should exercise patience while we await the directive of the MLCN on this issue. They should not make it seem like no steps have been taken to address the issue.”
-Punchng
