The World Health Organisation and European Union have supported College of Nursing and Midwifery, Maiduguri, Borno State to gain full accreditation by donating some modern equipment to the college.
The WHO Regional Office for Africa in Brazzaville, Congo disclosed this in a statement posted on its website.
It stated that the college had secured full accreditation from the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, which is the regulatory body.
The world body noted that “the accreditation came 40 years after inception and made possible with recent donation of modern equipment and tools by WHO and funding support from the EU.
“Items donated include laboratory equipment, classroom furniture, library books, practical teaching tools, hospital beds and computers.
“Students and staff of the institution say the equipment made teaching and learning a lot easier and friendly.”
The WHO quoted the Provost of the college, Hajiya Rukaiya Shettima, as saying: “I have the opportunity to share two distinct yet complementary experiences of this school.
“One, as a student nurse in the then School of Nursing and now as a staff, in fact, the provost of the school, now College of Nursing and Midwifery.
“Although the School of Nursing was established in 1971 by the defunct government of northern Nigeria, I gained admission to study nursing in 1981.
“As a student nurse in the 1980s, I still recall how we struggled to memorise procedures, role-play steps and imagine practical approaches for activities we hadn’t adequate equipment for practical.
“Despite the challenges, studying nursing in this school back in the 1980s was fun and a privilege, yet more arduous.”
Without full accreditation, the school was limited to a sparse curriculum and few students.
The Provost added: “The school hadn’t full accreditation from Nigerian Nursing Council and admitted just a few students due to inadequate facilities and teaching staff.
“Although we did well for many years in national and international examinations, it took uncommon dedication and commitment to succeed.”
Accreditation ensures the same standards and criteria across all nursing programmes in Nigeria, irrespective of location, while ultimately improving the quality of nursing education and keeps the curriculum up to date on current trends in nursing and healthcare, the provost added.