In the exercise of its over

sight
function, the Rivers State House of Assembly recently summoned the executive
Director of the State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA), Mr. Noble Pepple
to appear before the lawmakers on its overseas scholarship programme.

The invitation was sequel to a petition by the students of
Rivers oversea medical programme in the united Kingdom through their parents,
alleging that the RSSDA took the 2008 batch of foreign medical students to
Britain and abandoned them to their fate.

Upon the presentation of the petition on the floor of the
Assembly, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Otelemaba Amachree, directed the House
Committee on public complaints and petition to investigate the allegations
contained in the petition. Titled “The plight of Rivers State Government
sponsored medical students in the United Kingdom (2008 batch) to complete their
MBBS programme”.

Based on the issues canvassed in the said petition, the
committee was given two weeks to investigate the matter and report their
finding to the House for necessary intervention.

Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Michael Okey-Chinda and his
members went to work immediately and submitted their report in record time.

The findings of the Committee raised a lot of questions during
debate and that precipitated the resolution of the Assembly to invite the RSSDA
Executive Director via a unanimous voice vote by members.

The date was Wednesday, August 22, 2012, the Chamber created
an atmosphere of a tensed situation, suspense laced with mixed expectations as
the scenario and the gallery looked as if prospective commissioners were
undergoing screening. And to set the tone for the day’s business, the clerk of
the Assembly read out only two items in the order paper, namely the presentation
of Education Committee report on the outcome of its public hearing on the
Rivers State Education Quality Assurance Agency Bill, and the appearance of the
RSSDA Executive Director over the plight of State Government-sponsored medical
students in the United Kingdom.

The House Committee Chairman on education, Hon. Augustine
Ngo, delivered his report and debate was deferred to Monday August 27, 2012.
meanwhile, the bill has been passed by the lawmakers to give credence to
government vision of improving the standard of education to justify the huge
investment in the sector.

To set the stage for the item, the Leader of the House, Hon.
Chidi Lloyd, moved a motion to allow the RSSDA boss and his officials access
the hallowed Chamber as well as parents of the embattled students.

In the report submitted and adopted as working document of
the Assembly, Chairman of the House Committee on public complaints and
Petition, Hon. Michael Okey-Chinda, held that the petitioners were the first
batch of 2008 set of students sent to United Kingdom under the RSSDA’s overseas
medical programe.

Unfortunately, they were denied direct admission to study
medicine due to non-possession of A’level certificates.

As a result of this deficiency, they were enrolled into
foundation programmes in order to prepare them for direct admission into
medical schools in UK, but the late commencement of the preparatory programme
coupled with the government’s policy of limited space for foreign students,
none of the 2008/2009 batch succeeded in gaining admission to study medicine.

The Committee noted that following the development, the
students were subsequently admitted into school of Bio-medical sciences of the
University of Newcastle, UK and they obtained Bachelor of Science (B.Sc),
degrees in Pharmacology, Physiology, Bio-Chemistry, Micro-Biology, Bio-Medical
Sciences collectively referred to as premedical degrees.

However, to achieve their dream of becoming medical doctors,
the students approached the institution for admission but were rather offered
placements in Malaysia-based Newscastle University Medical School campus.

Surprising to the students, the authorities of RSSDA failed
to recognise the admission on the ground that the institution was not
accredited and issued them notification letters for their return back home,
having completed first degree programmes abroad.

As if the trauma of the students were not enough, the Agency
disbursed only £400 (four hundred pounds) to about 50 per cent of the students
in the programme out of their normal £800 (eight hundred pounds) monthly upkeep
and accommodation allowance.

The RSSDA team on the floor of the Assembly were the
Executive Director, Coordinator of the overseas scholarship, Mr. Godwin Poi,
and a professional U.K.-based consultant, Mrs blessing Tasie.

Although, the central cooling system of the Assembly was
working at optimum capacity, those who appeared before it were visibly
perspiring profusely as they battled to give cogent answers to the issues at
stake.

Members of the House put a few questions to the officials of
the Agency: the questions included which admission letter(s) the agency used to
secure UK Visa for the students?, who screened the students and found them
qualified for UK medical schools admission? Was the Agency not aware that they possessed
O’level and not A’level certificates before inviting them for their strict
aptitude test which the students passed? And what was the role of the UK based
consultant, Mrs Blessing Tasie, to the agency on the admission procedures
stipulated for medicine and the fact that only seven per cent placement was
reserved for all foreign students in Uk as a government policy?

Mrs Tasie was tongue-lashed for her inability to discharge
the responsibility placed on her shoulders, while Mr. Godwin Poi, struggled
fruitlessly to provide satifactory answers to the issues raised.

The more he tried, the more loopholes were created.

However, Mr. Pepple explained that during the period under
discussion, he was not part of the agency but acknowledged the failures which he
noted were regrettable and hinged his defence on the fact that 2008 batch was a
test case, coupled with the pressure to immediately kick start the programme.

He explained that the agency has since acquired a lot of
experience after the first experiment and therefore, has not recorded any more
case of this nature.

The RSSDA boss told the lawmakers that if any of the
premedical graduates secures admission on their own to study medicine in Uk,
the agency may be willing to sponsor, while promising to offset the areas of
the students upkeep allowance, subject to release of funds.

The Assembly, therefore, allied itself with the fears
expressed by the students and their parents of possible abandonement on return
and resolved that RSSDA should work cooperately with the premedical graduates
to seek for admission in any other of the nine countries covered by the
scholarship programme instead of limiting it to UK medical schools, adding that
it will help the students fulfill their ambition of becoming medical doctors and
contribute to the needed manpower in the health sector.

The lawmakers accepted the recommendation of the committee
that the agency maintains its stand on the Malaysia Medical School campus of
the Newscastle Unviersity as state funds should not be spent to acquire
unaccredited medical degrees.

They equally resolved that since their Visas will expire in
December 2012, they should return home while RSSDA collaborates with them to
get another admission and fully sponsor, in view of the fact that the fault was
not from the students.

The House also expressed appreciation that all the students
performed well in the programmes they were enrolled in and urged the affected
premedical degree graudates to remain grateful to the state government for the
opportunity and seeing them through the four-year academic sponsorship in spite
of the temporary set back.