In a move that threatens to undermine decades of progress in Nigeria’s healthcare system, the National Universities Commission (NUC) recently issued a circular (Ref: NUC/ES/138/Vol.65/202) dated May 20, 2025, excluding the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN) from the list of professional bodies authorised to conduct academic programme accreditation in Nigerian universities.
This directive, originating from the Federal Ministry of Education, represents more than just a policy shift—it is a dangerous erosion of professional regulation that could jeopardise patient safety and healthcare quality across the nation.
Why medical laboratory science matters to every Nigerian
To understand the gravity of this decision, Nigerians must first appreciate the critical role that medical laboratory science plays in their daily healthcare. When you visit a hospital for a blood test, when doctors diagnose malaria, diabetes, or HIV, when emergency rooms make life-or-death decisions—over 70 per cent of these clinical decisions are directly influenced by laboratory test results performed by trained medical laboratory scientists.
This is not abstract policy—this is about the accuracy of your medical diagnosis, the safety of your treatment, and potentially, your life. Research, according to Singh et al., (2017), shows that diagnostic errors contribute to approximately 40,000-80,000 deaths annually in hospitals alone globally. In Nigeria, where healthcare resources are already stretched, ensuring the competency of laboratory professionals is not a luxury—it is a necessity.
Medical laboratory scientists also serve as our early warning system for disease outbreaks, conducting the surveillance and detection work that protects entire communities from infectious diseases. The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated just how critical these professionals are to national health security.
The statutory and legal mandate of an act of law under threat
The MLSCN was not created by administrative convenience but by law. Established under Act 11 of 2003 and reinforced by the Laws of the Federation (CAP M25, 2004), the Council has the exclusive legal mandate to regulate the training, certification, and practice of Medical Laboratory Science in Nigeria. This includes developing training curricula, accrediting educational programmes, and ensuring that graduates meet professional standards before they can legally practice.
The NUC circular, under the instruction of the Federal Ministry of Education, effectively strips MLSCN of these legally established responsibilities without any corresponding legislation. This raises fundamental questions about the rule of law in our educational sector. How can a circular override an Act of Parliament? What message does this send about respect for legislative authority and due process?
The practical consequences of this decision
Here lies the most troubling aspect of this policy: even with NUC accreditation alone, no graduate can legally practice as a Medical Laboratory Scientist in Nigeria without MLSCN licensure. This creates an absurd situation where universities may receive NUC approval for programmes that ultimately produce graduates who cannot enter their chosen profession.
Imagine the devastating impact on students who invest years and significant resources in their education, only to discover that their degrees do not qualify them for professional practice. Picture the confusion among healthcare institutions trying to recruit qualified laboratory professionals when training standards become inconsistent across universities.
More critically, consider the risk to patients when laboratory training programmes operate without the specialised oversight of professionals who understand the life-and-death implications of accurate diagnostic testing.
Contradicting the Renewed Hope Agenda
President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda emphasises strengthening healthcare delivery, improving patient outcomes, and building a robust health system capable of responding to emerging challenges.
Quality laboratory services are indispensable to achieving these goals and advancing universal health coverage. Hence, an instruction of the Minister of Education and circular of the National University Commission should not be seen to undo the gains anticipated from the President’s Renewed Hope agenda for healthcare delivery.
The exclusion of MLSCN from accreditation processes no doubt, directly contradicts the President’s commitments. Strong laboratory systems correlate with better health outcomes, faster disease detection, and more effective public health responses, and this begins right at the training level of the laboratory professionals. Countries that maintain well-regulated laboratory professions consistently demonstrate superior healthcare metrics—exactly what Nigeria needs to achieve its health sector transformation goals.
A matter of public safety, not professional territory
Critics might dismiss this as a professional turf war, but such characterization misses the point entirely. This is fundamentally about public safety and healthcare quality. When laboratory professionals lack proper training or when training programs operate without appropriate oversight, patients suffer the consequences through misdiagnoses, delayed treatment, and potentially fatal medical errors.
Professional regulation exists precisely because technical competence in healthcare cannot be assumed—it must be verified, maintained, and continuously updated as medical technology advances. It is better imagined, what the consequence would be for the populace if Nursing, Pharmacy, or even Medical training becomes unregulated. The question that then begs answers is why Medical Laboratory Science would now be considered excluded, with the others included.
Is the Ministry of Education or NUC saying Nigerians do not deserve quality diagnostic care that hinges on quality MLS training as they do deserve for Nursing, Pharmacy, or Clinician practices that were included, especially seeing that the practice of these other healthcare professionals largely depends on the results obtained from the medical laboratories manned by these MLS professionals that was excluded?
The specialised knowledge required to assess whether a laboratory training programme meets current industry standards cannot be replicated by general educational oversight bodies, no matter how well-intentioned. The legal framework in place through the MLSCN should be allowed to do it oversight function in training of Medical Laboratory Science, as it is with its oversight function on practice.
The path forward
We call on the Federal Ministry of Education and the NUC to immediately reconsider this directive. The solution is not to exclude professional bodies from accreditation but to strengthen collaboration between educational and professional regulatory authorities. The Ministry of Health and relevant National Assembly committees must also intervene to protect the legal mandate of MLSCN and preserve the integrity of healthcare professions.
This is not about protecting professional interests—it is about protecting Nigerian lives. Every laboratory test that guides medical treatment, every disease outbreak that requires rapid detection, every screening program that prevents chronic disease depends on the competency of medical laboratory scientists. We cannot afford to compromise these critical healthcare functions through misguided administrative decisions.
Conclusion
Nigeria’s healthcare future cannot be built on policy shortcuts that ignore legal mandates and professional standards. The MLSCN’s role in training regulation is not optional—it is legally required and practically essential for patient safety.
We demand the immediate restoration of MLSCN’s accreditation authority, not as a favor to a professional group, but as a necessary step to protect public health, respect the rule of law, and advance the healthcare transformation promised under the Renewed Hope agenda of our dear President, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The stakes are too high, and the consequences too severe, to allow administrative convenience to override patient safety. Nigeria deserves better, and our healthcare system demands nothing less than the highest professional standards in every aspect of medical practice.
Saliu is the Secretary, Patriotic Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria.
