IMO VARSITY MEDICAL STUDENTS CRY OUT OVER LONG STAY IN SCHOOL

BY CHIDI NKWOPARA
OWERRI-Medical  students of Imo State University, IMSU, Owerri, have cried out that they were being made to spend more time than necessary to complete their degree programmes in the institution.

According to them, medical students now spend up to 10 years to complete a six-year programme.

The President, IMSU Medical Students Association, IMSUMSA, Comrade Chiedozie  Ikwu, made the lamentation when he led some of the executives to Vanguard office, Owerri.

'Our college has 10 classes as against six, which means some of us have spent 10 years doing a programme that ideally should take only six years'.

'Our examinations are not written as and when due and the only reason for this is lack of funding for the exams'.

We are still expected to pay school fees for all the extra years we are forced to remain in school,' Ikwu told Vanguard.

Ikwu said the medical students had five outstanding examinations, adding that none of them had been scheduled due to lack of funds.

'Previously, we proposed to individually pay a certain amount of money, in addition to our school fees to help ensure the exams held but our proposal was turned down by the university management,' Ikwu said.

The Chief Medical Director of Imo State University Teaching Hospital, IMSUTH, Orlu, Dr. Alexander Chukwulebe, who confirmed the situation in a telephone interview, however, blamed the ugly situation on periodic industrial action by workers.

'We have full accreditation for the course since 2008. Plans are in top gear to get the backlog of the exams sorted out, possibly before Easter this year,' Chukwulebe explained