ABUJA (FMoE’s Report) – Determined to move the profession of Environmental Health forward, the Environmental Health Officers Registration Council of Nigeria has embarked on curriculum review for Environmental Health, in order to make it at par with other professions in the country.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the review meeting of the curriculum for Environmental Health profession in Abuja recently, the Registrar, Environmental Health Officers Registration Council of Nigeria, Mr. Dominic Abonyi stated that the review was necessary to harmonize the curriculum in line with Universities and higher technology training, both at the regional and national bodies. Thus, the need to harmonize the curriculum was apt.
On the benefit the nation stands to derive from this programme, the Registrar opined that the harmonization is to sharpen environmental health practitioner skills, and bring them in line with the national purview and guidelines of the Ministry of Education. In his words “This harmonization of environmental health curriculum would further enhance our trainability elsewhere in terms of further educational and professional training.”
Mr.Abonyi further stated that if you take a Technician in Nigeria in environmental health, he will possess similar skills and competence in environmental health field comparable to other Technicians in other ministries or industries. Same thing is applicable to technologies, so it is a win-win situation, adding that “we have closed in on technician training, we have closed in on University training and rest of the professional training, so Nigeria stands to benefit from a more focused dexterous and result oriented environmental health from this review.”
The Registrar, however, commended the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) for its readiness to accept the Council since its inception.
Earlier, Executive Secretary of National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Dr. Mas’udu Adamu Kazaure expressed the Board’s appreciation to the Environmental Health Officer Registration Council of Nigeria, for spear heading the workshop, and for partnering with NBTE towards technological advancement of our great nation, Nigeria.
The Executive Secretary however revealed that curricula on Health, which included that of National Diploma/Higher National Diploma Environmental Health Technology Programmes were developed 18-20 years ago, and with rapid technological advancement, had long become obsolete. It thus requires urgent review, in order to make them meet the requirements spelt out for that purpose.
The Executive Secretary, who was represented at the event by Director, Monotechnic Programme, Mrs. Helen Oduntan stated that the workshop for Environmental Health Technology programmes marks the commencement of the first step of the Board’s process of quality assurance, which would follow up with resource inspection and accreditation visits, to ensure effective implementation of the curricula.
