With New NUC Rating, PAMO Varsity Leading in Medical Education

The recent listing of PAMO University of Medical Science, Port Harcourt as one of the 25 universities with fully accredited courses by the National Universities Commission in its 2021 universities ranking is exciting news to the management, staff, parents and students of the institution, writes Raphael Ehigiator

The management, staff, parents and students of PAMO University of Medical Science, Port Harcourt have a good reason to celebrate: the National Universities Commission (NUC) has listed the school as one of the universities in the country whose courses are fully accredited.

In its ‘2021 Nigeria University system rankings’ released last month, the NUC revealed that only 25 universities out of the 170 have fully accredited courses.

The commission added that less than 70 per cent of courses offered by the other ivory towers are accredited.

The NUC news was well received in PAMO University of Medical Science, having attained the feat in less than four years of its establishment.

PAMO, Nigeria’s first private medical university, is committed to pursuing only courses and programmes in the medical and allied fields. The institution has courses such as anatomy, biochemistry, human nutrition and dietetics, pharmacology and physiology in the Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS) and nursing in the Faculty of Clinical Sciences. Well-equipped and furnished to a world-class standard, it is situated in a serene environment in Port Harcourt.

The founders conceptualised the university as a world-class institution dedicated to building healthcare workers, including medical doctors and nurses.

The university has maintained its standards and policies in its four years of existence. Admission into the school is strictly based on merit with all the students residing on campus. It also has zero-tolerance for cultism and other related vices among staff and students.

For students to fully concentrate on their studies, not showing off affluence, use of private cars are not allowed on campus. Loitering is forbidden. Even visitors, parents and guardians are not allowed to have unscheduled visits.

Furthermore, the institution frowns at indecent dressing. To ensure due compliance, the school has a dress code for lectures and official functions for both students and officials.

PAMO boasts of the best classrooms, halls, laboratories and library facilities in the country with unbeatable hostel facilities. Each room has two students. All the rooms are en suite with constant water supply and water heater. The school is also reputed to have a​ 24-hour power supply, allowing students to study in a conducive environment.

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

The hospital has been at the forefront of providing high-class medical care and services for residents and visitors to Rivers for nearly 40 years. Over the years, it has 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.

From takeoff, the hospital has been aiding students from an early stage to have full medical knowledge and experience. The school’s management is building a four-storey building on Aba Road to house a teaching hospital. Besides, the school signed a memorandum of understanding with the Rivers government and Rivers State University Teaching Hospital, letting its students use the public teaching hospital for clinical training before completing the PAMO teaching hospital.

The full accreditation of the school’s courses and programmes by various bodies, including the NUC, Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, Medical Laboratory Council, etc., has made it the first choice for parents who want their children to have sound medical education and graduate in record time.

The uniqueness of PAMO university was emphasised recently by the Executive Secretary of the NUC, Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, who noted the university’s numerous achievements and commended the university’s ranking as 35th out of 200 in Nigeria. It is ranked 19th best private university. He stressed that the young university is ranked first in programmes with full accreditation. The NUC boss also stated that the university ranks first in the female students’ enrollment index amongst Nigerian universities.

“Exactly four years since the university received its licence, and today, we are graduating the first set of highly trained students who have been found worthy in character and learning and who will certainly play active roles in shaping the future of our country,” he stated.

He added, “We are happy that this young university is ranked first in programmes with full accreditation. We are happy that it also ranks first in the female students’ enrollment index amongst the entire universities in the country. The future is indeed very bright for this young but well-managed institution of higher learning.”