UNILAG Medical Students Yet To Be Inducted

Seven Months After Graduation Despite Being Forced To Pay N80,000 Each

A graduand, who spoke with SaharaReporters on condition of anonymity, claimed that all fees have been paid but the management has kept giving excuses for the delay.

Medical students at the University of Lagos have expressed concerns over the unwarranted delay in their induction into medical profession despite fulfilling all requirements.

A graduand, who spoke with SaharaReporters on condition of anonymity, claimed that all fees have been paid but the management has kept giving excuses for the delay.

He added that when probed too much, the management give unrealistic dates for their induction.

He said, “The Provost of the College of Medicine granted an interview recently claiming Nigeria was in short supply of the workforce to combat the ongoing pandemic. This is laughable especially when there are over 100 of us both in Medicine and Dentistry waiting endlessly for an induction seven months after we completed our studies.

"There was a time we lodged our compliant to the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria and the personnel, who responded, told us that the delay was that they were yet to certify us on character. That sounded and still sounds very strange.”

Another aggrieved graduand, who spoke with our correspondent, said they were tired of the situation.

He said, “We laboured for this degree, underwent the unthinkable. What exactly is the excuse of Prof Afolabi Lesi, the Provost, for not inducting us? This is after paying a compulsory sum of N80,000 induction fee.

"They cannot tell us that this is caused by the pandemic because we should have done this long before now. They can even issue temporary licenses to those who have got jobs at the moment or send to our mails. It’s not rocket science.

"As we are now, we can not practise. No jobs. Many of us are just stranded, wasting away instead of putting our training into professional practice especially at this crucial time in the world.”

Provost of the college and other senior officials could not be reached for comments at the time of this report.

Recall that in 2017, SaharaReporters reported the infrastructural decay and corruption at the college, which pushed students to pay bills of patients they treated all in a bid to meet up with procedures and qualify to sit exams.