NUC: Those Against Obtaining PhDs In Medical Sciences Are Ignorant

The National Universities Commission has expressed concerns over what it described as “saturated hatred” for PhDs in medical sciences in the Nigerian university system.

The commission said those who are opposed to PhDs in medical sciences as ignorant.

The Executive Secretary, NUC, Prof Abubakar Rasheed, disclosed this while receiving the report of the committee on postgraduate medical programmes in Nigerian universities.

The PUNCH reports that controversies have trailed the award of PhDs in medical and clinical sciences. The Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria alongside the Medical and Dental Doctors in Academics have argued that the award of PhDs is not necessary for medical and dental professionals in the academics given the fact that they are awarded medical fellowships, which certify them as academics and qualified to teach in their respective fields.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities, led by its President, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, had questioned the reason why medical and dental professionals in the academics would be exempted from acquisition of PhDs.

ALSO READ: 2022: See Full List Of 100 Best Universities In Nigeria

However, in the latest bulletin of the NUC, which was made available to The PUNCH on Wednesday, the executive secretary stated that the provosts of the colleges of medicine would be invited for discussions beyond the report.

The bulletin read in part, “The Chairman of the Committee on the Development of the Postgraduate Guidelines for Medicine and Dentistry, Prof Joseph Otubu, last Tuesday, led other members to submit the report to the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Prof Abubakar Adamu Rasheed, in his office. Rasheed explained that the importance of PhD in the medical profession could not be overemphasized, describing those who abhorred it as being ignorant.

“He mentioned that old universities that had existed long ago, such as Oxford and Cambridge, awarded PhD in clinical sciences, wondering why Nigerian universities would be discriminating against it. He said for those with dissenting voices and reasons, the atmosphere had become toxic, while the university system had been saturated with hatred for PhDs in medical sciences. He noted that this kind of thing happens when the majority wallow in ignorance.”