HISTORY DEPARTMENT OF VETERINARY SURGERY & REPRODUCTION

The Department of Veterinary Surgery and Reproduction was created/carved out from the Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery in July 1976 when Veterinary Medicine achieved the status of a full Faculty. Hitherto, Veterinary Medicine was in the Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Science.

The Department started developing programmes at the undergraduate level in Veterinary Surgery and Theriogenology (Veterinary Reproduction). At the inception of the Department the two major areas of Surgery and Reproduction were examined as a two-paper Surgery Examination with Surgery and Reproduction examined as Paper I and II respectively. When the Faculty changed to the course system, like other Faculties of the University, courses were developed in General Surgery, Anesthesiology, Soft Tissue Surgery, Imaging, Orthopaedics as well as Gynaecology, Obstetrics, Andrology and Artificial Insemination and Paediatrics of all domestic animals.

The Department has postgraduate programmes in Veterinary Surgery and Theriogenology. The M.V.Sc and Ph.D degree programmes were approved as professional degrees in 1973 to emphasize the professional orientation of our Postgraduate programmes. In 1996, approval was also granted for the Department to commence Postgraduate Diploma Programmes with specialization in Surgery, Anaesthesia and Radiology, to widen the scope of advanced clinical training available for practicing Veterinarians. The Postgraduate Diploma and M.V.Sc in Surgery and Theriogenology are open to graduates of Veterinary Medicine.

With subsequent growth of the Department, Postgraduate courses at the level of M.Vet. Sc and PhD were established and many postgraduate degrees have been awarded.