Tinubu Moves to Fast-Track Medical Training as TETFund Plans Six World-Class Simulation Centres Alausa Says Plan targets 20,000 annually By Beauty Akporido Aroh
The Federal Government has unveiled plans to establish world-class Medical Simulation Centres across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, in a major push to expand practical training and accelerate the production of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, dentists and other healthcare professionals.
The initiative, being driven through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), is designed to respond to the rapid expansion in enrolment into healthcare programmes and equip students with practical, technology-driven training before they enter hospitals and other clinical environments.
Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, CON, disclosed the development on Saturday while receiving the report of the TETFund Medical Simulation Committee, describing the proposed centres as a critical investment in the quality and capacity of Nigeria’s future healthcare workforce.
Alausa said the initiative reflects President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment under the Renewed Hope Agenda to expand access to healthcare education while ensuring that increased admission does not come at the expense of training quality.
“I would like to thank the members of the committee that has worked so hard and assiduously to get us to this point in which we are now talking about building several simulation centres across the country to provide world-class training for our medical students, dental students, nursing students, pharmacy students and other allied healthcare professionals,” the Minister said.
The scale of the proposed intervention comes against the backdrop of a dramatic increase in the number of Nigerians seeking admission into health-related programmes.
According to Alausa, nursing enrolment has risen from about 38,000 students three years ago to more than 120,000 across nursing schools nationwide, while annual admission into medical schools has climbed from roughly 5,000 students when the Tinubu administration assumed office to almost 12,000.
But rather than stop there, the government is setting a much higher target.
The Minister disclosed that the administration plans to raise annual medical school enrolment to about 20,000 students within the next three years, signalling an aggressive expansion of Nigeria’s pipeline for medical manpower.
“Today, I’m happy to report that we’re admitting almost 12,000 students primarily now. Our goal in the next three years will increase the number of annual medical student enrollment in medical school to about 20,000,” he said.
The expansion is not limited to medicine. Alausa said admissions into pharmacy and dental programmes had also doubled, creating an urgent need for institutions to expand their capacity for practical instruction and clinical skills development.
The proposed simulation centres are therefore expected to provide students with controlled environments where they can develop and practise essential clinical skills using modern simulation technologies before undertaking procedures on real patients.
The Minister commended the Chairman of the Medical Simulation Committee, Dr. Wale Suleiman, and members of the committee for the work that culminated in the report, as well as professional and academic stakeholders who contributed to the process.
Among those involved were representatives of key regulatory and academic institutions, including the Registrar of the Medical Emergencies Council, the Registrar of the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the Registrar of the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria and a Professor in the Department of Ear, Nose and Throat at the University of Abuja Medical School.
For the Federal Government, the planned six-zone intervention represents more than the construction of new facilities. It is part of a broader attempt to match Nigeria’s expanding healthcare education pipeline with the practical infrastructure required to produce competent professionals.
Alausa described the development as another manifestation of President Tinubu’s commitment to improving the quality of education and preparing Nigerian youths for the demands of the future.
“This person, President Bola, is committed to providing the best and the highest quality of education to every child in this country,” he said.
“We are seeing it, we are seeing the result now. It’s another manifestation of President Bola’s fervent and benevolent belief to the progress and benefit of the future of Nigeria,” he added.
The Minister assured that the Tinubu administration would continue to support the development of the TETFund Medical Simulation Centres and the wider expansion of healthcare training, with the ultimate objective of producing a larger, better-trained and more practice-ready healthcare workforce for Nigeria.
