NATIONAL MEDICAL COLLEGE ACT

There is hereby established a National Medical College (in this Act referred to as "the College") which shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal.

The College shall have responsibility for the conduct of professional post-graduate examination of candidates in the various specialised branches of medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology and dental surgery and making awards in relation thereto accordingly.

(1) The College shall consist of all Fellows of the College and its affairs shall be managed by-
(a) a Governing Board; and
(b) a Senate,
which shall each exercise such powers as are conferred on it by this Act.
(2)
The supplementary provisions in the Schedule to this Act shall have effect with respect to the proceedings of the Governing Board and the Senate and the other matters therein mentioned.
[Schedule]

The Governing Board of the College shall consist of-(a) the President of the College, who shall be chairman;
(b) the President and the registrar of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria;
(c) twelve representatives of the Senate;
(d) the Federal Director of Medical Services and Training;
(e)
the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health or his representative;
(f) the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance or his representative;
(g) the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education or his representative; and
(h) one representative of the armed forces of the Federation, who shall be a registered medical practitioner or dental surgeon.

The Governing Board shall be the governing body of the College and shall be charged with the general control and superintendence of the policy, finances and property of the College including its public relations.

The Senate shall consist of-(a) the President of the College, who shall be chairman;
(b) the chairman and secretary of each faculty board appointed pursuant to section 9 of this Act; and
(c) one representative elected by each faculty.

The Senate shall have responsibility for the running of the academic affairs of the College including-(a) the organisation and control of courses of study at the College and of the examinations held in connection with those courses; and
(b) the award of degrees, diplomas and such other qualifications as may be prescribed in connection with examinations held as aforesaid.

(1)
Subject to paragraph 1 of the Schedule to this Act, the President shall be appointed by the Governing Board and shall hold office as such for two years.
[Schedule]
(2) In the event of the death or incapacity of the President or if for any reason other than the effluxion of time the office of President is vacant, the Governing Board shall appoint another person as President for the residue of term of the President.
(3) Members of the Governing Board appointed under paragraph (b) of section 4 of this Act and members of the Senate appointed under paragraphs (b) and (c) of section 6 of this Act shall each hold office for two years.
(4) Any of the members of the Governing Board or the Senate referred to in subsection (3) of this section, may by notice to the Governing Board or, as the case may be, to the Senate, resign his appointment and where any such member ceases to hold office before his term of office would have expired by the effluxion of time, the body by whom he was appointed or elected shall, as soon as may be, appoint or as the case may be, elect a person to fill the vacancy for the residue of the term aforesaid.

(1) Each faculty shall comprise all fellows in the appropriate specialty and the faculties in the College shall be as follows, that is-
(a) the faculty of anaesthesia;
(b) the faculty of general dental practice;
(c) the faculty of dental surgery;
(d) the faculty of general medical practice;
(e) the faculty of obstetrics and gynaecology;
(f) the faculty of ophthalmology;
(g) the faculty of paediatrics;
(h) the faculty of pathology;
(i) the faculty of physiology;
(j) the faculty of psychiatry;
(k) the faculty of public health;
(l) the faculty of radiology;
(m) the faculty of surgery; and
(n) the faculty of any other specialty as may be prescribed by the Governing Board of the College.
(2) Each faculty shall elect from among its members not less than eight nor more than sixteen persons to serve on its Faculty Board, two of such persons being elected chairman and secretary, respectively of the Faculty Board; and all members so elected to the Faculty Board shall each hold office for a period of two years.
(3) Subject to such standing orders that may be made by the Senate for that purpose, each Faculty Board may carry out its duties as it deems fit.
(4) Each Faculty Board shall appoint a court of examiners and the courts shall be charged with the conduct of examinations under this section and thereafter the Faculty Board shall make its recommendations to the Senate.
(5) Members of a Faculty Board shall not be entitled to any emoluments, other than expenses reasonably incurred in travelling on the Board's business, but members of a court of examiners shall be entitled to such remuneration as the Governing Board of the College may authorise.

Where a candidate offers himself for examination under this Act he shall satisfy the appropriate Faculty Board-(a) that he is a registered medical practitioner or dental surgeon, as the case may be, so however that if the candidate is on the temporary register he may be examined only by leave of the Senate given either generally or as a special case; and
(b) that he is in possession of and is therein named as the holder of a certificate from an institution recognised by the College showing that he has satisfactorily attended the prescribed course of training in the particular specialised branch and for the prescribed period of the course.

Where the College awards its diploma under this Act, the holder shall be entitled to status as a fellow in the specialised branch of which the diploma is evidence.

(1) The College may on the recommendation of the Senate, award honorary fellowships to persons of distinction in the community who need not be medical practitioners or dental surgeons and, subject to subsection (2) of this section, may on the like recommendation, elect fellows who need not have offered themselves for any postgraduate examination conducted by the College.
(2) No person shall be eligible for election as a fellow unless he already possesses a postgraduate degree, diploma or other qualification registered with the Nigeria Medical Council and satisfies such other conditions as may be prescribed by the College.

The College shall, from time to time, publish in the Federal *Gazette* and elsewhere as it may think fit-
(a) particulars of the standards which are to be treated as sufficient for the purposes of examinations conducted by the College pursuant to this Act; and
(b) the list of institutions recognised for the purposes of section 10 of this Act.

(1) The Governing Board may employ such staff of the College as the Governing Board may consider necessary for the purpose of any of the functions conferred on any body under this Act.
(2) The Governing Board shall from among the officers appointed pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, select a person to act both as its secretary and as secretary to the Senate.

(1)
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires-
"**Act**" means the Medical and Dental Practitioners Act;
"**College**" means the National Medical College established by section 1 of this Act;
"**Faculty Board**" means any Faculty Board established by or pursuant to section 9 of this Act;
"**Governing Board**" means the Governing Board of the College referred to in section 3 of this Act;
"**Medical and Dental Council**" or "**the Council**" means the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, established by section 1 of the Act;
"**President**" means the President of the College;
"**Senate**" means the Senate of the College referred to in section 3 of this Act.
(2) Unless the context otherwise requires, expressions used in this Act have the same meaning as in the Act.

This Act may be cited as the National Medical College Act.