Kaduna State University (KASU), has acquired full accreditation of the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC) for its Faculty of Pharmacy and an interim accreditation status from the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN), a statement from the Faculty yesterday said.
With the development regarded as uncommon for a 7-year old Pharmacy Faculty in Nigeria, the University will induct its first batch of Pharmacy graduates into the practice of pharmacy next Friday, the statement signed by Professor Ben Ahmed Chindo, Dean Faculty of Pharmaceutical Science, added.
Reads part of the statement: “I am glad to announce that my faculty has attended full accreditation after the NUC carried out a diligent assessments of our course contents, quality of learning facilities, lecturers and related parameters.
“In the course content, we were scored 100%, which is an extra-ordinary feat for any pharmacy faculty. We also scored very high marks after the assessment of other areas.
“Also, the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria carried out similar assessments with that of the NUC in line with the Benchmark Minimum Academic Standard (BMAS) and gave us provisional accreditation status, which is the highest it can accord any school at this stage.
“With this development, the Induction and Oath Taking ceremony of our 27 graduates will take place next Friday. They comprise of graduating students of the 2016/ 2017/and 2018 respectively. However, we have among them 5 graduates in the first semester of 2018/2019 who had a spill over.
“As a matter of fact, it took us only 2 years to get these accreditations. There are schools that have spent between 7 and 10 years to acquire both accreditations.
“This means that our graduates can proceed for their mandatory internship as qualified practicing pharmacists to add to the scarce number of university trained pharmacists in Nigeria.
“This is big motivation for our 300 students’ population as KASU intends to only raise the standard, based on how the Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Muhammad Tanko has used the scarce resources of the school to plough into the faculty.
“Competition for admission is bound to jump from the present average 4,500, though, unfortunately, we can only admit a maximum of 60 each year,” Professor Chindo said.
Professor Chindo said that the faculty has a world class Herberium and a world class medical plant garden as among some of the outstanding attributes of the school.
“We also have a 45-station (punches) tablet-making machine that’s not found in any Nigerian University,” he said.
“The induction ceremony and oath taking ceremony will attract some elite academics and deep profile practitioners in our sector.
“Prof. Martins O. Emeje, will deliver the guest lecture under the topic: “Navigating the Rigours of Pharmacy Education: What Does the Future Hold?” he added.
It could be recalled that Prof. Chindo, caused a stir in the pharmaceutical world in 2017 after he discovered the treatment and cure for epilepsy and mental illness (madness) using extracts from a herbal plant. He made the startling revelation during his professorial inaugural lecture titled: Herbal Medicines: Panaceas or Agents of Destruction?
By the by present standing of the faculty, he becomes an automatic members of the powerful Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN).
