About Us
Welcome to Sancta Maria Catholic College of Nursing Sciences
A Catholic college of nursing sciences in Uzairue, Edo State, training registered nurses inside a working hospital since 2020.
Our Great History
Fourteen years from an idea to a graduating class
Sancta Maria Catholic College of Nursing Sciences is a professional nursing institution in Uzairue, Edo State, accredited by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria and operating within the grounds of Sancta Maria Catholic Hospital.
It did not arrive fully formed. The idea was raised in 2010, when the constraint on the hospital’s work was not beds or buildings but people. It took seven years to become a building, ten to earn regulatory approval, and fourteen to produce a graduate. Every stage had to be earned: the funding, the facilities, the accreditation, the staff, and finally the students willing to take a chance on an institution that had never graduated anyone.
Today the College teaches over 300 students and has sent more than 100 nurses and midwives into practice. Its academic offering has grown from a single midwifery programme to a four year ND and HND pathway, with a Post Basic route for practitioners already registered.
Scientia Vitae Primo Est. Knowledge first saves life.
Years, ND and HND combined
Certificates on graduation
Programme completion rate
Students currently enrolled
Who we are
Knowledge will bring you the opportunity to make a difference.
Knowledge in nursing and midwifery empowers you to provide quality care, save lives, and transform healthcare. It opens doors to opportunities, enabling you to advocate for patients, drive medical advancements, and make a meaningful difference in maternal and public health.
Our Values
Competence. A nurse who cannot do the work cannot help anyone. Clinical skill comes first.
Compassion. We teach students to care for the frightened patient and the anxious family, not only the condition.
Integrity. Our students are formed to be trusted with responsibility, because the profession demands it.
Service. We train nurses for the communities that need them, not only for the hospitals that pay best.
Our Mission
To train registered nurses who are clinically excellent and morally grounded, and to send them into the communities that need them most. We teach nursing as both a science and a service, and we hold our students to the standard of the patients they will one day care for.
Our Vision
To be recognised across Nigeria as a college whose graduates are trusted at the bedside from their first day, and whose training reflects the compassion at the heart of Catholic healthcare.
What you graduate with
Our graduates emerge as skilled, confident, and compassionate professionals, ready to make a difference. At SMCCNS, we blend academic excellence with hands-on training to produce world-class healthcare providers.
ND, National Diploma in Nursing HND, Higher National Diploma in Nursing
Registered Nurse (RN), Registered Midwife (RM), Registered Public Health Nurse (RPHN)
“Scientia Vitae Primo eat – Knowledge first saves life”
Programmes
Two ways in, one qualification structure
Nursing at a College of Nursing Sciences is a four year programme: two years of National Diploma followed by two years of Higher National Diploma. Whether you start at year one or join partway through depends on what you already hold.
Nursing (ND and HND)
Nursing (ND and HND) For school leavers The full four year programme, entered through JAMB. You study two years for the National Diploma, then two years for the Higher National Diploma, with clinical placements.
Post Basic Nursing
For registered nurses and registered midwives who want the ND and HND academic certificates. You are admitted partway through and you do not sit JAMB. How long it takes depends on which qualification you already hold.
College Life
Life at Sancta Maria
Training is demanding, so the community around it matters. Here is what surrounds the academic work.
Hostel Accommodation
Safe, supervised accommodation on campus, available to every admitted student.
Clinical Placement
Supervised practice at Sancta Maria Catholic Hospital and partner facilities, running alongside your classroom work from year one.
Student Union and Clubs
Student led societies, sports and community outreach that build the soft skills employers ask about.