Gov. Peter Mbah of Enugu State has appealed to nursing students in the state not to leave the state after graduation to curb brain drain in the state’s health sector.
The governor made the appeal during the 2024/ 2025 Maiden Matriculation Ceremony of the Nursing College, Enugu on Thursday.
Mbah said rather, they should consider the huge resources the state was committing in training of students studying nursing and midwifery in the state and give back to the state after graduation.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that 240 nursing students matriculated comprising 120 each from the Parklane and Awgu campuses following the upgrade of the college to Higher National Diploma awarding institution.
Mbah, represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, said “japa syndrome” was completely against the policy of the state, who had been spending reasonable amount in training them.
“We don’t train you and after spending all that money in infrastructure and the first opportunity you get you leave our healthcare facilities.
“One thing we are very particular is how we improve the service conditions so that when you go through the effort of getting your certificate, you don’t leave our state.
“That is why we are training beyond just academics so that you see that this is service and if any of you can go back to our budget in 2024 and 2025, the highest investment is in education and health,” Mbah said.
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He explained that the state’s effort in upgrading the institution and ensuring that students were exposed to the best learning techniques, medical equipment and technology, was in fulfillment of its campaign promise of building a healthy society.
“The bold move and the can-do spirit initiative of the administration, that led to guaranteeing the future of the people and transforming the state into a hub of medical tourism.
“This led to the accreditations of the college and other medical institutions by Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN),” he stressed.
Mbah disclosed that the journey started with the invitation of the first batch of the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) officials to accredit the School of Midwifery.
This step, he noted, was critical and allowing students to get indexed after two years of delay, a process that officially certified them as Student Nurses and enabled their enrollment in the NMCN professional exams.
“Building on this success, the State Government took even bolder steps by inviting officials from both the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and the NMCN to oversee the upgrade of the former “School of Nursing” to the prestigious collegial status, he added.
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