The Forum of Health Commissioners in the North-West has vowed to shut private health training institutions operating without meeting regulatory standards in the region.
The chairman of the forum and Jigawa State Commissioner for Health, Dr Abdullahi Muhammad Kainuwa, disclosed this at a stakeholders’ meeting with heads of health training institutions in Dutse.
Kainuwa said the forum was concerned about the growing number of private health training schools operating without complying with approved guidelines.
He said the forum had constituted a special committee to monitor health training institutions across the seven North-West states and ensure compliance with regulatory standards.
The commissioner warned that any institution found operating without the required facilities and personnel would be shut down.
He expressed concern about schools operating without permanent premises, qualified and permanent teaching staff, functional laboratories and other essential facilities.
Kainuwa said private health training institutions were needed because government-owned schools lacked the capacity to admit all prospective students seeking places to study health-related courses.
‘However, private institutions must meet the required standards before they can be allowed to operate,’ he said.
He also warned government agencies responsible for licensing the institutions against approving schools without verifying their premises, teaching staff, laboratories, equipment and other facilities.
Kainuwa said officials who issued licences to institutions that failed to meet the requirements would face severe sanctions.
He added that any government official found to have facilitated the licensing of an unqualified institution could lose their job.
The commissioner said the move was aimed at protecting the quality of health training and ensuring that graduates entering the healthcare system had the knowledge and skills required to provide safe and effective services.
He urged operators of private health training institutions in the North-West to comply with regulatory requirements or risk closure.