A 300-level student in the Nursing department of Harvarde College of Science, Business and Management Studies, Obada in Abeokuta, Ogun State, has died from an alleged suicide
The victim, identified as Ajoke by her colleagues, reportedly took her life on learning that the Ogun State Government had sealed her department for offering a degree programme in Nursing sciences for six years without accreditation.
An enforcement team comprising representatives of the Ogun State Ministry of Health and members of the State Nursing and Midwifery Committee (SNMC), had sealed the institutions nursing department for offering a degree programme in Nursing Sciences for six years without accreditation from the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN).
Speaking during the enforcement exercise earlier on Tuesday, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Kayode Oladehinde, stated that such unauthorised programmes contributed to quackery in the profession and posed a threat to the health of the populace.
He said the Nursing Department of the institution would remain closed until it is fully accredited.
Mr Oladehinde, who was represented by the Acting Director of Nursing Services, Serifat Aminu, described a degree in Nursing obtained from Harvarde College and similar institutions without NMCN accreditation as worthless. He explained that graduates from such schools would be denied license to practice in Nigeria and other parts of the world.
We have discovered that many institutions, including Harvarde College, offer nursing degrees to unsuspecting students. Our mission is to clamp down on such institutions because they end up producing quacks in the Nursing profession. This is dangerous for society. Unfortunately, most students are unaware that their time is being wasted, he said.
The official warned parents and candidates desiring to pursue nursing or related programmes to be wary of institutions making false claims by checking the NMCN website for an updated list of accredited institutions. He assured that the government would continue to checkmate quackery in the nursing profession.
In a reaction, a 300-level student, who wished to remain anonymous, expressed shock at the institutions lack of accreditation, lamenting the amount of money her parents had spent on the programme.
