Ayade Makes History As Calabar Nursing School, Ogoja And Obudu Midwifery School Get Full Accreditation

Ayade Makes History As Calabar Nursing School, Ogoja And Obudu Midwifery School Get Full Accreditation

Cross River State Governor Sen. Ben Ayade has re-established his dedication to improving the delivery of health care in the state. 

While receiving Dr Betta Edu, the Honorable Commissioner for Health, and the accreditation team who presented him with the Full Accreditation Certificate of Schools, he made this known.

In the Governor’s words, “I thank the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria for approving the Itigidi College of Nursing Sciences, while granting full accreditation to Cross River State Nursing and Midwifery Schools and increasing the number of students we can admit & train per time.”

This would help to fill the human power gap in the health system that exists. I highly applaud the ambitious health team’s diligent work, encouraging them to work harder to achieve universal health care in the state.

This is coming up on the hills of the fact that in the last year, the Cross River state health sector has continued to break records and lift the bar with great achievements. One of which is the Full Accreditation status expressed in a letter from the Secretary-General and Registrar Al H. Faruk Umar Abubakar of the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria to the Honorable Health Commissioner Dr Betta Edu for Cross River State Nursing and Midwifery Schools Calabar Ogoja and Obudu for the next five (5) years.

The Nursing Schools of Calabar, the School of Nursing Ogoja and the School of Midwifery Obudu have been functioning with provisional accreditation right from the beginning, as the schools were unable to meet the criteria for full accreditation status. In 2011, the provisional status of these schools was revoked as they did not meet the criteria of the councils for even a temporary status. In 2018, with all its limitations, the provisional status was recovered, which has now been converted to a full accreditation status with an increase in benchmark from 40 students to 100 in Calabar nursing school and from 50 to 75 in the other two schools.

“With the lack of skilled health workforce in the state, it has become expedient for the state to get a full accreditation status that will allow us to train more students and have more skilled hands to deliver quality health care services across the state,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Betta Edu, who was overwhelmed with joy. We are grateful to the Governor for supporting the massive work that has taken place in those schools. I thank my super team at the Ministry of Health, the accreditation team and the council for this great breakthrough in the state’s health sector, and the benefits are immense.

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Bar Takon Asu Takon, the Director of Nursing Services, Dr Pauline Obute, and the Chair of the Accreditation Team, Mrs Abasi Offiong, were present at the presentation, expressing their appreciation to the Governor for all his help to ensure that this outcome was achieved.