Requirements for School of Nursing in Nigeria 2020/2021

In this post, we will explain in detail the admission requirements for schools of nursing in Nigeria. As I always encourage young admission seekers, Nursing is a very good course to study in Nigeria.

Nursing is a profession that is much needed to develop the

If you want to study nursing in Nigeria, you must know the requirements so that you can plan and meet the requirements. If you do not know the requirements you may not be able to proceed in your admission to study nursing. Below, is a detailed explanation of the requirements for nursing in Nigeria in 2020/2021.

Before I go further, please note that there are there is a difference between studying Nursing in a university and attending a school of nursing.

Simply put, a Degree in Nursing is offered at the university while Registered Nursing (RN) is offered in the school of nursing or college of nursing under hospital management.

Also, while a Degree in Nursing is run for 5 years, Registered Nursing is run for 3 years in a school of nursing or school of midwifery. What this means is that if you want to study nursing in the university for Degree in Nursing (BSN), you will need to sit for the JAMB examination and score the required cutoff mark of the university of your choice.

But you don’t need JAMB for General Nursing which will award you the Registered Nursing title. Requirements for School of Nursing in Nigeria 2020/2021.

General Nursing Program General Nursing Program is the basic nursing program in Nigeria. If you get admitted into a school of nursing for the general nursing program, you will become a registered nurse upon completion of your course in three years.

The currently approved entry requirement is five (5) O’level credit passes in Mathematics, English Language, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology at not more than two (2) sittings from either the West African Examination Council (WAEC) or National Examination Council (NECO).

Any student with a foreign examination board result(s) is expected to submit an evaluation report or equivalent grading from the Federal Ministry of Education along with the result. NABTEB is currently not acceptable.

Note: Acceptable Age range for admission into Basic Nursing and Basic Midwifery Training program is 18 - 35years as at the time of indexing.

Post Basic Midwifery Program Once you have become a Registered Nurse (RN), you may apply for a Post-Basic Midwifery to become a registered midwife.

As a Registered Nurse or Registered Midwife, you can receive a practicing license to start a work-study program with a year of professional on-the-job training. Here, you will gain experience in a hospital and work towards a clinical specialization at the certificate level through professional programs. You could then specialize in any of these clinical programs: Medical-Surgical Nurse, Public Health and Policy Nurse, Critical Care Nurse, Medical-Surgical Nurse, Anesthetist, Orthopedic, Pediatric, etc.

These specialization programs run for a full year except for the Nurse Anesthetist program which runs for 18 months. Requirements for School of Nursing in Nigeria 2020/2021 Bachelor of Nursing Sciences (BNSc) Alternatively, you could attend any of the universities offering Nursing in Nigeria to study for a five-year Bachelors's in Nursing Sciences Degree or RN, Registered Midwife (RM), or Registered Public Health Nurse (RPHN).

As a prerequisite, you must have at least five (5) credit level passes at not more than two (2) sittings at the Senior Secondary School Certificate (SSCE/NECO/GCE) examinations in the following subjects as listed below: English Language Biology or Health Science, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics or any other science subject. Some universities accept any additional qualification from any health-related discipline such as listed below; Community Health Officer Training Certificate (CHO), NCE (Physical/Health Education, Science Education, Nutrition, Home Economics) Health Superintendent, Registered Nurse (RN), Physiology, Medical Laboratory Science, etc.

Masters or Doctorate Degree in Nursing Not too many study Nursing up to Maters or Doctorate level in Nigerian universities.

For this reason, only two universities in Nigeria are currently running Nursing at these levels: Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife and the University of Ibadan.

Below is a list of some of the best-accredited Masters' universities in Nigeria where you could study Nursing:

University of Lagos 

University of the Port Harcourt

University of Nigeria, Nsukka

University of Jos

University of Ilorin

University of Ibadan

University of Benin

University of Abuja

Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka

Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife

Federal University, Birnin Kebbi

Bayero University, Kano

National Open University

In case you are wondering if there is an age limit for nursing in Nigeria, the answer is yes.

If you want to study nursing in any Nigerian Univerisity, you should be between the ages of 18-35 years old.