The branch chairman of the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), Dr Kolawole Akande, has expressed concern about the non-implementation of CONMESS for clinical lectures at the University of Ibadan and its implications for the Federal Government’s intent to increase the number of doctors trained in Nigeria’s Universities.
Dr Akande, in a reaction to the industrial strike by clinical lectures at the University of Ibadan, said the non-implementation of CONMESS for clinical lectures had disrupted the teaching of medical students both at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels and was a disincentive to the recruitment of other clinical lecturers by the university.
According to him, “Clinical lecturers in UI have not been teaching students since December 2024 due to the failure of UI management to implement CONMESS as done for our colleagues in other Universities with colleges of Medicine.
“This is not good for the students as it will prolong their stay in the medical school. It is almost two years now that we have been pleading with the University management to do this to no avail.
“University of Ibadan College of Medicine is no longer attractive to potential clinical lecturers”.
“The non-implementation of CONMESS in UI has put the clinical lecturers at a disadvantage compared to their colleagues in other Universities.
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“So nobody wants to come again unless there is a change. This is why we have to salvage the medical school now before it is too late.
“Many of the clinical departments in the College of Medicine have not recruited in the last 7 to 8 years despite advertisement.
“Our colleagues who are qualified and are working in the hospital have refused to join the university because of the poor pay.
“At the same time, many of the professors have retired and still retiring without any replacement. All these have resulted in overwork for the few remaining with poor work-life balance and burnout for many of us.
“At the same time, the federal government is asking the colleges of medicine to increase their student intake to mitigate the shortage of health care providers in the country.
“But the people who are training them are not motivated to take the job at the University of Ibadan.
“It will interest you that out of the 28 Universities with Colleges of Medicine in Nigeria, University of Ibadan is one of the four who have refused to implement CONMESS for their clinical lectures and all the four Universities are in the southwest zone of the country. This has a negative implication for the future of medical training in Ibadan and south-west.”
Professor Temidayo Ogundiran, provost of the College of Medicine at the University of Ibadan, responded that the strike is not against the College of Medicine and that the university authority headed by the Vice Chancellor-in-Chief is already aware of it.“The strike is under control; it’s unfortunate that it’s prolonged. But, hopefully, I believe that it will be sorted out,” he said.
President of the University of Ibadan Medical Association, Mr John Ini Oluwa, in a reaction, said since the strike started in December 2024, medical students have not had classes and gone on their clinical rotations even after resuming from holidays in January.
Mr Inioluwa said that the strike had extended the period of their stay in school, and the student’s body is already in dialogue with the school’s authority to end the clinical teachers’ strike.
According to him, “Most of us have spent over six years because of COVID-19. Because of the strike, we have lost the year, too. We are hoping that the strike situation can be resolved as quickly as possible so we can return to school.
“We hope that the University of Ibadan management quickly wades into the matter because, from our understanding, it’s more of a local issue, and we are hoping that the school authorities take this matter more seriously and find a solution.”
