The National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) said it has uncovered a health training institution operating illegally in Ikorodu area of Lagos State.
Its Chairman in Lagos Chapter, Mr Olurotimi Awojide, made this known when an investigation team visited the institution, Imperial School of Health Technology.
The health training school is situated in an uncompleted building at Ita-Oluwo in Ikorodu, a Lagos suburb.
Awojide said the unaccredited institution, Imperial, would “only succeed in producing quacks”. He said nursing as a profession could not afford to have quacks in a system dealing with human lives. According to him, this informed the prompt investigation visit to the illegally operated institution.
“Prompt action has to be taken when the school’s advertisement was seen on the Facebook, claiming to be a health institution offering courses such as Nursing, Midwifery and Health Inspector without accreditation.
“The association has a list of accredited nursing schools and health institutions in Lagos State; so, it is a surprise when the school paraded itself as a health training institution to the innocent public.
“Illegal institutions such as this one contribute to the problem of maternal mortality by producing half-baked health workers into the society,” Awojide said.
He said after the investigative visit which confirmed truly that the school is in existence and functioning, the next step is to close it down.
“Now that we have confirmed that the school is functioning, the next step is to close down the school.
“Then, we can go ahead to prosecute the owner so that it will serve as a deterrent to others that are planning similar thing,” Awojide said.
He, however, admonished the students patronising such a school to ensure they enroll in an accredited institution.
Awojide said the students needed to know that they have to be registered with NANNM and get licensed to be gainfully employed with good organisations.
“Do not waste your time and your parents’ money in this type of institution, if you do not have the necessary prerequisites to be a nurse.
“It is better to go and study other courses, and not for you to go for this illegal programmes.
”With required five credits and intelligence, because intelligence is needed to know how the human body works, a serious and passionate student will get admission into the state School of Nursing,” he said.
Reacting, Provost of the School, Mr Simeon Oye-Daniel, who spoke on telephone, denied operating an illegal health training institution. Oye-Daniel said the school was only training health assistants and not nurses.
He said that after the two years course, the students would be issued Diploma certificate in Health Assistance.
The provost said the school had been in existence since 2016, adding that accreditation for its Diploma Certificate was still being processed.
A student, who pleaded anonymity, confirmed that the school was offering Nursing, Midwifery and Health Inspector courses.
“I entered for the two years Diploma course, and we are in our second semester. l was told that the school is in affiliation with a university in Abeokuta, and I intend to get a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing here.
“We also go for Industrial Training (IT) in some private hospitals,” she said.
