In March, 1959, after consultation with the three Regional Governments, the Federal Minister of Education, the Hon. Aja Nwachukwu, appointed a Commision on Post-School Certificate and Higher Education in Nigeria under Chairmanship of Sir Eric Ashby. The report of the Ashby Commission was presented to the Government in September 1960. After consideration of the Ashby report the Federal issued a report on “Education Development 1961-70,” Sessional Paper No. 3 of 1961. The report stated: “The University of Lagos will have a medical school and utilize existing medical institutions for training in clinical medicine.” In collaboration with the Federal Government and at its request the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization set up in June 1961 the UNESCO Advisory Commission for the establishment of the University of Lagos. One of the Commissions terms of reference was “to prepare detailed recommendations in regard to the organization, administration and financing of the University as well as the range and organization of the discipline and research programmes required”. The UNESCO Commission report was completed on the 29th of September 1961. The report was accepted by the Federal Government and steps were taken to found the University of Lagos Teaching Hospital. On the 26th of December 1961, the Lagos University Teaching Hospital Act became Law. This Act provided for the establishment of a Teaching Hospital “to be known as the Lagos University Teaching Hospital for the purposes of providing such facilities for the training of medical students as are usually provided by teaching hospitals of internationally high repute. From the date of the passing of the Act, which also provided for its affairs to be conducted by the board of Management, the 350-bed Mainland Hospital at Surulere became the “Lagos University Teaching Hospital”. A bill for an Act to establish a University of Lagos was laid before the Federal Parliament in March 1962. This Bill provided for the establishment of a Medical School which shall be an autonomous unit of the University of Lagos. The bill was passed into Law on the 16th of April ,1962. The Act established that “the medical school in Lagos shall for all purposes be an autonomous unit of the University”. On the 5th February 1962, Senator the Hon. Dr. M.A. Majekodunmi, then Federal Minister of Health, undertook an extensive tour of the United Kingdom, Ireland the U. S. A. and Canada for the purpose of recruiting the academic and consultant staff of the Hospital. He was accompanied on his tour by two Nigerian medical educators as his advisers. The success of the tour was due to the co-ordinating activities of its Director of International Medical Education, Dr. Henry van Zile Hyde. Through Dr. Hyde and his associates, it was possible to meet heads of departments and faculty members of a number of medical schools who showed great interest in the new medical school proposed for Lagos. Among these , the University of Toronto have taken special interest in the development of the University of Lagos Medical School. The first of appointments, those of Dean and Vice-Dean, were made by Senator the Hon. Dr. M. A. Majekodunmi, M.A.,M.D. Federal Minister of Health, with effect from the 14th of April 1963. The first batch of twenty-eight preclinical students were admitted in October, 1962. On the 10th of March, 1967, the Federal Military Government of Nigeria issued a Decree (No. 3, 1967) reconstituting the University of Lagos and establishing within it a body corporate by the College of Medicine of the University of Lagos. The decree came into force on the 1st of April, 1967, and the “University of Lagos Medical School” was redesignated College of Medicine of the University of Lagos”. |
