By Peter Moses
A 300-level student at a private tertiary institution in Abeokuta, Ogun State, simply identified as Ajoke, has reportedly committed suicide.
Our correspondent gathered that Ajoke, a student of Basic Medical Science at Havarde College of Science, Business and Management Studies, Abeokuta, on Monday evening, drank poisonous substance, suspected to be Sniper.
Her body was discovered in her hostel room located off-campus.
Sources at the college revealed that the deceased, who had been battling depression, must have committed suicide over an “unwanted pregnancy.”
Another account indicated that the her condition worsened after she found out that her course not been accredited by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria.
“For more than four months now, she (deceased) had been depressed because of the fact that the course she was studying was not accredited.
“She used to complain because she claimed her parents used all the money they had to send her to the school.
“Things now got worse when she discovered she was pregnant and she could not even have a certificate for the course she had done for years,” the source said.
But, the provost of the institution, Dr. Ismail Oyetunji, said the circumstances surrounding the death of the student happened outside the school’s premises.
The provost added that the deceased’s parents came to the school last week to pack her belongings after discovering she was pregnant.
He said, “A 300-level nursing student was reported to me this morning by our dean of students affair to have committed suicide. She was impregnated by her boyfriend. Her parent got to know and came last week to pack her belongings from the school.
“She came back to Abeokuta and thereafter decided to commit suicide. She was rushed to Hope Hospital by her boyfriend in the Adigbe area of Abeokuta where she eventually died.
“Everything happened outside the college premises. However, the management of the college sympathises with the parent and relatives of the deceased. We sincerely pray that God will give them the fortitude to bear.”
When asked if the suicide is connected to the non-accreditation of the nursing programme offered in the institution, the provost insisted that the student committed suicide because of the pregnancy.
“No no, it has nothing to do with that. She got pregnant and her parent was aware. They came and packed her belongings in Abeokuta because of that. It happened somewhere outside the school.”
Meanwhile, the Ogun State Government on Tuesday shut down the Nursing Department of the college for allegedly offering a degree programme in Nursing Sciences for six years without accreditation by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN).
The department was shut down during an enforcement exercise carried out by officials of the state Ministry of Health and members of the State Nursing and Midwifery Committee (SNMC).
Speaking during the enforcement exercise, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr. Kayode Oladehinde, stated that such unauthorised programme contributed to quackery in the profession, thereby posing a threat to the health of the populace.
He maintained that the Nursing Department of the institution would remain closed until fully accredited.
Oladehinde, represented by the Acting Director of Nursing Services, Mrs. Serifat Aminu, described a degree in Nursing obtained from Harvarde College and similar institutions without NMCN accreditation as worthless, explaining that graduates from such schools would be denied licence to practise in Nigeria and other parts of the world.
“We have discovered that many institutions, including Harvarde College, offer nursing degrees to unsuspecting students. Our mission is to clamp down on such institutions because they end up producing quacks in the Nursing profession. This is dangerous for society. Unfortunately, most students are unaware that their time is being wasted,” he said.
He warned parents and candidates desiring to pursue nursing or related programmes to be wary of institutions making false claims by checking the NMCN website for an updated list of accredited institutions, assuring that the government would continue to check quackery in the nursing profession.
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