Medical Student Admissions: MDCAN Warns FG Against Quota Increase Without More Facilities
Korede Abdullah 
LAGOS, Nigeria – Medical lecturers under the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan Chapter, have warned the Federal Government against increasing medical student admission quotas without corresponding improvements in infrastructure and manpower.
The association’s chairman, Dr Oluseyi Akande, raised the concern in Ibadan on Monday during MDCAN’s 2026 Annual General Meeting press briefing.
Akande said although the quota increase was intended to address Nigeria’s shortage of doctors, admitting more students without expanding training facilities and the number of lecturers could undermine the quality of medical education.
Akande said the implementation of government infrastructure projects had been slow, leaving some institutions unprepared for increased student numbers.
“At the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, these structures are not ready, even though the number of students admitted has increased since last year,” he said.
He called for more lecturers and improved incentives, noting that consultants were already combining the teaching of medical students and resident doctors with clinical responsibilities.
“Our members are already overworked in the hospital because of Japa syndrome and almost non-existent primary and secondary health care facilities in most states of the Federation,” he said.
The association also called on the government to constitute governing boards for federal teaching hospitals and release funds for life-saving equipment approved for UCH in the 2025 budget.
It further urged the government to address delays in salary payments for newly employed consultants.
Akande said increasing the number of medical students must be matched by investments in the facilities and personnel required to train them.
The MDCAN chairman also appealed to Nigerians to stop attacking healthcare workers, saying inadequate equipment and poor electricity supply could affect patient outcomes.
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