74 Years Of Dynamic Achievement Of School Of Hygiene Kano

74 Years Of Dynamic Achievement Of School Of Hygiene Kano

Ibrahim Garba Gwarzo

The school of Hygiene, Kano was established in 1932/33 for the purpose of training health personnel for the entire Northern region. The training of environmental health officers in institution commence with 12 students from different part of northern region. The regional government was in charge of the administration of institution and the students were trained in different aspect of preventive health.

Over the year, when the service of the institution in filed of training improved, the name of school was changed to Ahmedau Bello University institution of Health, school of Hygiene, Kano. When the institution was run by ABU the people of Kano realized that the indigenes of Kano were not benefiting very well in terms of admission despite playing host of the school. This led to an agitation for the transfer of the ownership of college to Kano state government during administration of late Sabo Bakin Zuwo. It was a huge success and Kano state government duly took over the institution in 1980. New equipment and facilities were installed in the school. The training programme was improved upon to train many health workers for Kano and other northern Nigeria.

The management of school of Hygiene was left with Herculean task of designing a new curriculum for the institution in place of one used during colonial administration era. At that the curriculum was the same as that of the school of Hygiene based in London, the United Kingdom (UK). The grandaunts of school in those days usually sat for the Royal Society of Health Examination (RSH) and their papers were marked in London.

Over the years, however, taking the papers to London for making became tedious and expensed, Ghana, Nigeria, The Gambia, Sierre Leone and Liberia all former Bristish colonies optyed out in 1982. They decided to set up their own examination board, the west Africa Health Examination Board (WAHEB) based at Yaba, Lagos. School of Hygiene, Kano was duly registered of its students which was mandatory. The board had increased the entry requirement from less than three credits to five credits in biology, chemistry, English and other two subjects.

When the Kano state government appointed a new management in 1992 for the school of Hygiene, additional course, were introduce and student in take was raised. Higher National Diploma (HND) and ordinary Diploma (ND) in public health programme were started. The provost of the institution, Malam Ibrahim Malami was conferred with initial challenges such as low student enrolment because of the five credits bench mark stipulated by West Africa Health Examination Board. the management under him introduced several certificate and diploma courses such as environmental health assistant, environmental health officer, food hygiene and public health nursing. A Diploma in environmental health, food hygiene and HND in public health nursing were also introduced.

The institution had over the year produced hundreds of health personnel tha had been assisting various communities throughout the country. It had also graduated several students including the former Military govenor of northern central Nigeria late Brigadier Abba Kyari and late General Mamman Shuwa. Others are Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the chief Judge of Bauchi state, Alhaji Sabo Sulieman and Major J.S. Udoh of the Nigerian Army medical corps to mention just a few.

As a result of the excellent performance of the school under the leadership of Malam Ibrahim, the west Africa Health Examination Board (WAHEB) National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and Environmental officer Registration Council, (EHRECON) have given provision accreditation to school to run HND and ND programmes. Considering the universal acceptance of current globalization issues, the school has designed training programmes that rely on environmental scientific knowledge. They are:

Five years of Environmental health technology programme leading to HND in Environmental health. The requirement is five credits at GCE/NECO, in science subjects and passes in English language; A three –year environmental health technology programme leading to ND. The admission condition is four credits at GCE/NECO and a pass in English language. There are also two-year environmental health assistant certificate courses in environmental health with three credits in science subjects and pass in English language.

Besides, the School runs a two-yea continuing education/refresher course popularly know as retraining for environmental health assistant and an ND environmental health technologist. Candidates must meet either 1 or 2 above. The two-year HND public health nursing programme requires that candidates are registered nurses/midwifes in case of female candidates and that is a post-basic nursing programme for male candidates.

There is another two-year diploma programmes in food hygiene. The entry qualifications are certificates in catering and food hygiene. There is an additional requirement of credits in science subjects and mathematics as well a pass in English. As for one-year programme in food hygiene leading to certificate the requirements are two credits in the sciences and pass in English at NECO/GCE as well as certificate in catering or food and nutrition.

It was with kind jousted, the state government, under the able leadership of Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau of grade the school from Kano state school of Hygiene to Kano state College of Environmental studies, an edit has since pass to this effect by the state House of Assembly.

The Colege Porvost Malam Ibrahim was born at Yalwa Danziyal of Rimi Gado local government in 1959. He attended primary school from 1966 to 1973, Gwarzo Senior secondary school, 1973 to 1978, Kaduna Polytechnic 1979 to 1981. Where he obtained National Diploma in Nutrition and Dietetics. He also holds the Royal Society of Heath London (RSH) and Higher National Diploma (HND) in environmental heath technologies for West Africa Health Examination Board (WAHEB) at Ahmadu Bello University Zaria from 1981 to 1984.

Ibrahim Malami also attended Bayero University, Kano where he studies for an advance and post graduate diploma as well as master’s degree in public policy and administration in 1992 to 2002.He has served as chairman, Kano state chapter of Environmental Health Officers Association, public relation officer and treasurer respectively in the 1980s, Malam Malami has held various posts in Kano state civil service and served as Sole administrator of Kano municipal local government council in 2004. Now he he is a member of National Environmental Registration council representing North-West Zone.

He said, “We thank God and the administration Malam Ibrahim Shekarau for changing the face of the School, to one of the best college not only in the northern Nigeria but among the best in West Africa”.