The National Universities Commission (NUC) has reviewed the academic duration for studying Medicine and stated that interested candidates will henceforth spend a minimum of 10 to 11 years to acquire the full knowledge required to practice the profession.
The disclosure was made by the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Prof. Julius Okojie, while delivering a lecture at the Matriculation and Inauguration of the University of Medical Sciences, Ondo, Ondo State.
Okojie, represented by the Deputy Executive Secretary of NUC, Prof. Chiedu Mafiana, in his lecture titled ‘Development of Medical Education: Prospects and Challenges’ said the review would enable students to mature psychologically into the profession.
Explaining further on the scheduled 10 to 11 years of study, he said the 2015 reviewed documents for the training of medical students has made provision of 4 years for students to study basic sciences after which they will proceed to the medical school to spend yet another seven years.
Defending the new development, Okojie said: “The new benchmark still retains the fundamental learning objectives that seek to achieve national development goals as well as a sustainable development goal.”