Ogun State Government has disclosed that the admission process for candidates into its College of Nursing Sciences for 2024 and subsequent academic calendars would be done through the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

Commissioner for Health, Dr. Tomi Coker, who made this known in a statement, said government had demonstrated its resolution to foster the standardisation of nursing education by securing collegiate status for its erstwhile Schools of Nursing and Midwifery in 2021, through the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN).

Dr. Coker revealed that the state had also secured accreditation from the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) in 2023, empowering the College to award Ordinary National Diploma (OND) and Higher National Diploma (HND), adding that it is now a requirement for prospective candidates to commence admission into the colleges through Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB).

"Governor Dapo Abiodun has supported us continually in our resolve to reform the educational aspect of the nursing profession. Our rationale for this reform is founded on the pivotal roles nurses play in healthcare delivery. If we desire the best health outcomes, the schools that produce our nurses must offer nothing but the best form of education.

"This government will continue to ensure that only the best candidates gain admission to the campuses of our College of Nursing in Abeokuta, Ijebu-Ode and Ilaro; and more importantly, only the best students make it through the institutions. This would ensure that our Registered Nurses are highly productive anywhere they work, whether at home or outside the shores of the country", she said.

Dr. Coker further disclosed that only candidates with a minimum of five credits, including English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics, at not more than two (2) sittings in West African Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) could apply for the OND/HND Nursing programme, while the UTME subject combination must be Use of English, Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

She further revealed that successful candidates, who meet the minimum cut-off marks, would be invited for a screening/interview by the College, adding that the high standards which the government had established in recent years would be sustained throughout the admission process.

While warning prospective candidates to be wary of fraudsters, the Commissioner stated further that government no longer conducts sales of entrance examination forms, advising them to visit JAMB website and select any of the three campuses of the College from the listed state Monotechnics.