FG approves medical fellowships as PhD substitute for medical professionals

THE Nigerian government has approved an amendment that will enable medical professionals to use medical fellowships as an equivalent of a PhD for academic promotion and progression.

The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Wednesday after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) presided over by President Bola Tinubu.

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Mr Alausa said the amendments to the National Postgraduate Medical College Act were reviewed and approved by the executive council.

It is expected that the proposed changes will be sent to the National Assembly for amendment to the law.

Medical professionals have long argued that medical fellowships should be equivalent to a PhD in the academic environment.

They argued that the content of a medical fellowship from the National Medical College of Nigeria (NMCN), West African Postgraduate Medical College (WAPMC) or other recognised foreign postgraduate medical colleges was already rich in depth and research.

The Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) and the National Universities Commission (NUC), which regulates university education, resolved in 2020 that a PhD is not a compulsory qualification requirement for the career progression of clinical consultants.

According to the agreement, the non- possession of a PhD will not hinder clinical lecturers from being promoted from one rank to another up to the level of Professor in the Nigerian University system.

However, MDCAN still alleges discrimination against medical professionals with medical fellowships and without a PhD, especially during the recruitment of university vice-chancellors, which usually requires a PhD.