From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
The South-East and South-South Caucus of the Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) have proclaimed a five-day warning strike to protest the exclusion of clinical lecturers from the eligibility criteria for the Vice-Chancellor position for Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, otherwise known as UNIZIK, and other institutions in the region.
The Association accused the Chairman of the UNIZIK Governing Council, Greg Mbadiwe, and other ones in the regions of deliberating promoting an agenda that will reduce the chances of clinical lecturers to emerge the Vice Chancellor of the school.
A protest letter jointly signed by the Dr. Iroro Yarhere and Dr. Stanley Ogbonna, Chairman and Secretary, respectively, of MDCAN South-East Caucus, appealed to management of universities in the South-East and South-South regions rescind their discriminatory decisions, and provide equal opportunities to all academic disciplines to contest for the post of a Vice Chancellor.
The officials, however, made reference to recent newspaper advertisement for post of UNIZIK VC which stated that an interested candidate must hold a PhD. “This has automatically excluded clinical lecturers who are employed as Fellows of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria and the West African College of Physicians/Surgeons.
“In addition, the criteria stipulated that candidates must be supervising PhD students, which also, unfairly, disqualify clinical lecturers who are primarily responsible for supervising medical residents and clinical fellows.
“It also demanded that candidate must have secured research grants of no less than N400 million, a criterion that overlooks the nature of research in several discipline in the university such as language, arts etc, which may not always attract such large funding, but significantly impacts university education and service delivery in the society. The advert also required a PhD of 15 years from the time of the advert.
“This exclusion is unacceptable to us. It sets a dangerous precedent. Should this be allowed to stand, it could encourage other universities to adopt similar exclusionary policies, effectively denigrating the Fellowship qualifications with which clinical lecturers were employed at the rank of Lecturer I or higher.
“This development also undermines the professional standing of clinical lecturers who have contributed immensely to the academic, research, and service delivery missions of their respective universities.
“As a result, clinical lecturers across the South-East and South-South regions have resolved to initiate a five-day solidarity and warning strike starting Monday, October 21, 2024, to express their strong opposition to this unfair exclusion, and If the issue is not resolved as quickly as possible, it may lead to an escalation of the industrial action beyond the five-day warning strike in defence of the integrity and relevance of our Fellowship qualifications and professional contributions.”
They urged the Committees of Vice Chancellors and Pro Chancellors to intervene promptly and review the discriminatory advertisement to ensure that clinical lecturers are included and equity in leadership selection is upheld.