The 2024 graduates of the Department of Radiography at the University of Lagos, Akoka, have accused the school management of jeopardising their future after the Radiographers Registration Board of Nigeria de-accredited their programme following seven years of study.

The distressed graduates claimed that the programme was de-accredited because the university management failed to provide the department with the necessary medical equipment and adequate lecturers.

Speaking separately with PUNCH Metro on Tuesday, the aggrieved graduates feared their future was at risk due to the prolonged RRBN accreditation crisis.

Established by Decree 42 of 1987, now CAP R1 LFN2004, the board is a Category B parastatal under the Federal Ministry of Health responsible for regulating radiography practice in Nigeria by licensing and maintaining a register of all radiographers in the country.

After spending seven arduous years in a programme designed to last five and finally graduating in 2024, the graduates lamented that their dreams of becoming certified radiographers now face a crushing setback and uncertainty.

The distraught graduates revealed to our correspondent that they learnt about the RRBN?s de-accreditation of the programme shortly after completing their final examinations in August 2024, leaving them stranded without the qualifications required to advance their careers.

One of the distressed graduates, simply identified as Chioma, told our correspondent that the lack of accreditation would prevent them from taking the professional qualification exam needed to obtain their licences and secure internships.

She said, ?Ideally, our accreditation expired in 2023, and the renewal process has been ongoing. The board stated that the department must have functional X-ray and ultrasound machines in addition to the ones at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital.

?Although the department has the equipment, none of it has worked since I joined in 2017. Our predecessors faced a similar issue and had to wait two years after graduation to be inducted.

?The department has lost its accreditation. Without this accreditation, we are unable to sit for the professional examination required by the board to induct us into the professional body and issue us a licence. This also means we cannot proceed with our internship, let alone participate in the National Youth Service Corps scheme. We find ourselves in a state of limbo.?

Another frustrated graduate, identified only as Amarachi, also explained that the accreditation crisis had been a persistent issue for the department since 2016.

She mentioned that some graduates had to wait for almost two years before being inducted.

?I was admitted in December 2017, and the issue has been ongoing ever since. They?ll resolve it, but then we end up losing it again. Our convocation took place on January 15, 2025.

?Our induction ceremony into the RRBN is currently on hold because the department lacks the necessary facilities. A previous cohort had to wait nearly two years due to a similar issue,? Amarachi said.

When contacted on Tuesday, the Head of the institution?s Communication Unit, Adejoke Alaga-Ibraheem, instructed our correspondent to direct any questions to an email address.

?If it has anything to do with the query, kindly send them to the email,? said Alaga-Ibraheem.

Our correspondent thereafter sent an email to the address as directed but as of the time this report was filed, no acknowledgment or response had been received for the email sent to the address provided by the spokesperson. (The PUNCH)

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