Kaduna State authorities have intensified oversight of private healthcare education, shutting down 20 unlicensed Colleges of Health Sciences and private hospitals operating without approval across the state.
The enforcement exercise, carried out on Friday, reflects the government’s renewed resolve to sanitise the health sector and halt the activities of institutions running outside regulatory frameworks.
Speaking on the development, the Commissioner for Health, Umma Kaltum-Ahmed, said the closures were necessary to protect residents from the dangers posed by unregulated health training and substandard medical services.
“Our responsibility is to ensure that anyone trained to handle human lives receives proper, accredited instruction,” she said, adding that “illegal institutions undermine both public trust and patient safety.”
The affected facilities were discovered in Chikun, Igabi, Kaduna North, and Kaduna South local government areas, following routine monitoring and compliance checks by health authorities.
According to the commissioner, several of the sealed centres were presenting themselves as training institutions despite lacking accreditation, thereby misleading unsuspecting students and the wider public.
She warned that the proliferation of such facilities could lead to the emergence of poorly trained health workers, a situation she described as “a serious threat to the integrity of healthcare delivery in the state.”
Kaltum-Ahmed advised prospective students to verify the status of any health institution before seeking admission, stressing that unrecognised certificates amount to wasted effort and financial loss.
Furthermore, she praised Governor Uba Sani’s administration for backing reforms aimed at raising standards, noting that sustained political will was key to building a safe, credible, and effective healthcare system in Kaduna State.