Provosts of health institutions across Nigeria have appealed to the Federal Government to exempt their schools from the recently imposed seven-year employment embargo in the public sector. The education leaders argue that the restriction, if fully implemented, would cripple the already fragile healthcare training system and worsen the shortage of skilled professionals in the country.
Speaking at a joint forum, the provosts expressed concern that the embargo would prevent them from recruiting much-needed academic and non-academic staff, thereby disrupting the training of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory scientists, and other critical health professionals. They noted that unlike other sectors, the health system requires a continuous pipeline of trained personnel to sustain medical services and address the country’s growing population and disease burden.
According to the education chiefs, many health training institutions are already grappling with staff shortages, inadequate infrastructure, and high student-to-lecturer ratios. They warned that the employment ban could further compromise the quality of medical education, weaken accreditation status, and hinder Nigeria’s ability to meet international standards in healthcare training.
The provosts emphasized that health institutions should be treated as special cases, given their central role in preparing frontline workers who are essential to national security and public health. They called on the Federal Government to consider granting waivers that would allow schools of medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and allied sciences to recruit qualified staff when necessary.
Several stakeholders in the health sector have backed the call, stressing that failure to exempt the institutions could deepen the brain drain already affecting Nigeria. With many trained professionals leaving the country in search of better opportunities abroad, stakeholders fear that training institutions starved of manpower would only worsen the situation.
In response, the Ministry of Education acknowledged the concerns raised and promised to engage with relevant government agencies to review the policy’s impact on critical sectors. Officials hinted that discussions were already underway to consider possible exemptions for institutions directly linked to essential services.
As deliberations continue, the provosts have urged the government to act swiftly, warning that prolonged delays could have lasting consequences on the health sector. They stressed that safeguarding the future of healthcare delivery begins with protecting the institutions responsible for producing the next generation of professionals.
