Universities and medical education in Nigeria

Formal attempts at Medical Education in Nigeria began in 1927 with the establishment of an institution in Lagos for training medical manpower to diploma level. They were trained to practice only in Nigeria. The program was not popular and was discontinued. Following the report of the Elliot Commissions on higher education in West Africa it was decided to establish the University of London College at Ibadan, with a Faculty of Medicine as one of the initial faculties. This was realized in 1948. The debate on what type of doctor to produce for Nigeria ended with the decision to produce high caliber doctors of the same standing as British trained doctors. In 1960 the Ashby Commission on Higher Education in Nigeria recommended the establishment of more training institutions, including those for medicine. This led to the establishment of the University of Lagos with the College of Medicine. The three initial regional governments all established their universities with medical faculties. Medical education has expanded rapidly with the expansion of universities, and we now have Federal and State governments as well as other organizations or private individuals owning universities with medical schools. Regulation of undergraduate medical education has continued to be under the dual oversight of the National Universities Commission and the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria. The main problems of the medical schools have been the shortage of properly trained staff and poor facilities, curriculum stagnation and lack of modern teaching and assessment instruments. To tackle these problems training in educational methods should be mandatory for academic staff; there should be greater synergy between the NUC and MDCN, and curriculums should be reviewed to reflect modern trends.