The Federal Government has announced plans to establish world-class Medical Simulation Centres across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones as part of efforts to strengthen healthcare education and expand training opportunities for students.
The announcement was made by the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, while receiving the report of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) Medical Simulation Committee.
According to the minister, the proposed centres will provide practical training for students studying medicine, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy and other allied health professions.
“I would like to thank the members of the committee that has worked so hard and assiduously to get us to this point in which we are now talking about building several simulation centres across the country to provide world-class training for our medical students, dental students, nursing students, pharmacy students and other allied healthcare professionals,” Alausa said.
Why does this matter?
Medical simulation centres allow students to practise clinical procedures, emergency response techniques, patient care and other healthcare skills in controlled environments before working with real patients.
The initiative comes at a time when enrolment in healthcare-related programmes is rising rapidly across Nigeria.
According to the minister, nursing enrolment has increased from about 38,000 students three years ago to more than 120,000 students today.
He also disclosed that annual admission into medical schools has risen from about 5,000 students when President Bola Tinubu assumed office to nearly 12,000 students.
The government is now targeting about 20,000 medical school admissions annually within the next three years.
“Today, I’m happy to report that we’re admitting almost 12,000 students primarily now. Our goal in the next three years will increase the number of annual medical student enrollment in medical school to about 20,000,” he stated.
Alausa further revealed that admissions into pharmacy and dental programmes have also doubled, increasing the number of healthcare professionals being trained across the country.
The minister described the proposed simulation centres as an important step towards ensuring that the growing number of students entering health-related fields receive quality practical training alongside classroom learning.
He also commended Dr. Wale Suleiman, Chairman of the Medical Simulation Committee, and other members of the committee for their work in advancing the project.
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