Medical council scraps N900,000 fee for foreign-trained doctors — after public outcry

The Mental and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) has scrapped the N900,000 mandatory fee for foreign-trained medical doctors.

The council, in a statement, announced that its previous publication that foreign-trained doctors are to undergo a six-month mandatory attachment programme in teaching hospitals has been withdrawn.

TheCable had reported that the medical council asked all medical graduates who schooled abroad and seek to take the council’s assessment examination will undergo a six-month mandatory attachment programme.

Also, applicants who are Nigerian citizens were required to pay a non-refundable fee of N900,000, while non-citizens were to pay N1,400,000 for the programme.

The decision of the medical council did not go down well with many Nigerians in the wake of the massive emigration of health workers to other countries.

Owing to the directive, the house of representatives mandated its committee on healthcare services to investigate the council over the directive.

In the new directive, the council said candidates who have paid the N10,000 registration fee will be refunded, adding that it will publish another curriculum for the training.

The council also deleted the previous directive published on its website.

“This is to inform the general public, that following the public reactions to the MDCN publication on the mandatory six-month teaching hospitals attachment programme for foreign-trained medical and dental graduates, especially the petition by a coalition of parents of foreign-trained medical doctors to the national assembly,” the statement reads.

“And based on the outcome of the meetings MDCN held with the leadership of joint senate committee on health and house of representatives committee on health care services and the house of representatives committee on public petition, MDCN hereby states as follows:

“The MDCN hereby withdraws the publication on the six-month attachment for foreign-trained medical and dental graduates and candidates are now left with the discretion to seek knowledge that will assist them with the assessment examination wherever and however they so desire. Candidates who have paid N10,000 (ten thousand naira) registration fees will have their money refunded.

“MDCN will publish in due course the curriculum for the training which has been developed by the examiners to guide the candidates in preparation for the examination.

“This curriculum was brought out from the “Red Book” which is available on the MDCN website. MDCN would also publish the performance pattern of candidates in the previous examinations based on country of training in order to guide parents in the choice of foreign universities for their wards, and this will be done and published after every subsequent examination.”