PAMO Varsity’s First Taste of Convocation

PAMO University of Medical Sciences last week rolled out the drums to celebrate its fourth founders’ day and first convocation for the first batch of its graduating students who have helped in no small measure to put the school on the map of great institutions in the country, Blessing Ibunge writes

Flowing graduation gowns, joyous faces of parents, family members, and photographers characterised the sight at the usually quiet campus. The occasion was the first convocation and fourth founders’ day celebration of PAMO University of Medical Sciences (PUMS), Port Harcourt, Rivers State, as the students were formally pronounced “graduates.” For the students, the years of study are now history.

Even the parents were not left out in sharing and documenting their joy and happiness on that special day. They thanked God for the institution, urging the management to ensure that they continue to do what is right and innovate in order to have an influx of applicants and students.

“I don’t mind putting all my four children here. As a matter of fact, my second child, a boy, is here. I will make sure that the third and last child will come here to school. I like everything about the place- the serenity, hostel, and basic facilities, security, ICT and equipment. Everything is excellent. I hope the management of this place keeps it up,” a parent, Mrs. Abigail Nwosu, said.

PAMO, Nigeria’s first private medical university offers courses in anatomy, biochemistry, human nutrition and dietetics, pharmacology, physiology, medicine and surgery (MBBS), and nursing.

Last weekend, 21 students were its first graduates, finishing a race that was generally accepted to be worth the effort. The 21 students graduated from the Department of Anatomy, Biochemistry, Pharmacology, and Physiology.

As part of the activities to celebrate the occasion, the university had planned a three-day event starting December 17 with medical outreach at Elelenwo at Odani Community Town Hall, a novelty football match on December 18 starting with the convocation lecture delivered by the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Abubakar Rasheed to the award of degrees and prizes to the graduands.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony, former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd.) urged the federal government to support private universities through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), among other interventions.

Abdulsalami, PUMS’ chancellor, called on state governments to support private institutions for educational development. He noted that the success of PUMS is a demonstration of what can be achieved when states step in to support the provision of private education in their respective states.

The former head of state noted that although the institution was only four years old, it blazed the trail among other universities in the country.

“In the same vein, the federal government is called upon to render support to private institutions through university education trust funds. It is also statutory for state governors to extend a hand of support to private institutions in their respective states,” said Abdulsalami. “It is important because of the not-too pleasant experience in other institutions.”

Abdulsalami lauded Governor Nyesom Wike’s administration for awarding scholarships to indigenes of the state studying at the university.

Wike said the government and people of Rivers are delighted with the establishment of PUMS and the vast opportunities it avails youths in the state to become skilful medical professionals and practitioners. He said the state government has maintained and sustained a close, symbiotic, and mutually beneficial relationship with the university from its inception to date by identifying with and contributing materially to its steady growth and progress.

“Back in 2017, we instituted a special public scholarship, covering tuition, accommodation, and feeding to encourage our indigenous students to take advantage of the university and become graduates and professionals of the areas of interest. We have religiously implemented this scholarship programme for four consecutive years with almost 600 beneficiaries as at the last academic session,” said Wike.

“Today, I am very pleased to note that all the graduating students of Rivers State origin are scholars of the Rivers State Government educated and trained with public funds. In addition to the scholarship, which now costs well over N2.9 billion to implement annually, we have also made several generous financial donations towards the infrastructural development of the university.”

He commended ex-Governor Peter Odili for establishing the first and only private medical university in the South-South.
Wike announced a N500 million grant to the institution, a postgraduate scholarship to the overall best graduating student, and a N5 million reward for the best departmental graduating students.

In his keynote speech, Rasheed said private universities have continued to play a vital role in Nigeria’s national development. He said PUMS is currently the 19th best private university and 35th best out of 200 universities in Nigeria.

The institution’s Pro-Chancellor and Governing Council Chairman, Dr. Peter Odili, said PUMS’ management commended Wike for offering scholarships to over 600 Rivers students to study medicine and allied medical courses at the university.

Apart from awarding students, the occasion witnessed Abdulsalami and Wike receive honorary doctorates. While Abdulsalam received Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.) Honoris Causa, Wike bagged Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) Honoris Causa.

The founders of the PUMS conceptualised the university as a world-class institution dedicated to building healthcare workers, including medical doctors and nurses in the country
The university has maintained standards and policies in its four years of existence. Not only is admission into the school strictly based on merit, students resident on campus, but it also has zero tolerance for cultism and other vices.

For students to fully concentrate on their studies and not show off affluence, they are not allowed to use private cars on campus. Even visitors, parents, and guardians are not allowed to have unscheduled visits.

Furthermore, the institution frowns upon indecent dressing as students are not allowed to expose their bodies. The school has a dress code for lectures and official functions for students and officials.

PUMS boasts of conducive classrooms, halls, laboratories, and library facilities, and its hostel has a room for two students. All the rooms are en suite with a constant water supply and water heater. The school has a 24-hour power supply.

One of the university’s greatest strengths is having an existing teaching hospital established by its founder, a renowned medical doctor established in the 1980s called PAMO Clinics and Hospitals Group.

The hospital has been at the forefront of providing high-class medical care and services to residents and visitors to Port Harcourt and Rivers State for nearly 40 years. It has also provided high-quality medical treatment and health promotion services spanning Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics, Gynaecology, and Paediatrics to individuals, families, and corporate organisations spanning sectors such as energy, oil, and gas, power, agriculture, and construction.

From takeoff, the hospital has been aiding students right from the early stages to have requisite medical knowledge and experience. This is unlike other universities whose students are not exposed to hospital experience until they are in the 400 level. Even at that, the management is currently building a gigantic four-storey building on Aba Road that will house a comprehensive teaching hospital.

Besides, the school signed a memorandum of understanding with the Rivers government and State University Teaching Hospital, where its students for clinical training before completing the building of the PAMO teaching hospital.

The full accreditation of the school’s courses and programmes by the National Universities Commission (NUC), Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, Medical Laboratory Council, etc., has turned it into a first choice for Nigerians seeking medical education.