No less than three hundred undergraduates at the Faculty of Dentistry and Dental Surgery, University of Calabar, are on the verge of being sent away from the institution.
Some of thaffected students who shared their predicament on X explained that the controversy stems from claims that the university admitted more students than the number officially accredited by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN).
The affected students, some of whom are in their fourth and fifth years of study, said they were recently issued letters summoning them for a meeting regarding what school authorities described as “non-regular” admissions.
The memo invited the students to a scheduled meeting with faculty authorities scheduled for July 7. Although the letter stops short of explicitly stating expulsion, students interpret it as a precursor to being dropped from the programme.
Reactions by some of the students:
Shegzz @SteveOsh2 while recounting his ordeal on X said: “I’m a 5th year dental student. I’ve written 3MB exams, passed all. Now in pre-clinical dentistry, hoping to graduate in less than 2 years, only to now hear we have lost accreditation because we don’t have the facilities. They kept on promising and feeding us lies that facilities would be available before we graduate. Here we are in Year 5, 7 years inside this struggle, and we are now told to take transfers to other schools, which wouldn’t solve this issue.”
Jack Collinsgaj @xavage1919: “I am a student of 5B class… I have given my all to make sure I pass my exams(+2 professional exams) only to be told that my future has been shattered by my very university, which is supposed to protect my interests… This is heartbreaking and depressing…”
Jumbo Blessing @Jumblessing hinted that the ugly development isn’t new in the institution. “Same thing they did to engineering and pharmacy students 4years ago and mass communication 3 years ago. Unical is always doing this every year, admitting too many students, then the lecturers will fail them and send them to departments they never chose or just drop them.”
Speaking under conditions of anonymity, one of the affected students said, “This is our fourth year in this programme. We’ve paid fees, done clinicals, passed courses, and now they’re telling us we shouldn’t have been admitted?
We are not the ones who approved the admission quota. Why should we suffer for the institution’s mistake?”
While the university has yet to issue a formal public statement, some students allege that staff members have warned them against speaking to the media.
“We were told not to talk about this, even among ourselves,” claimed another affected student. “But we are tired of being quiet. We have families who’ve invested in us. We want answers.”
University of Calabar Dentistry Department license has been withdrawn.
Over 300 students have been asked to leave after spending 7 years in school.
They are being advised to learn trade or do other things.
The quota was 40 annually but the current VC admitted up to 900 students illegally.
A state of emergency needs to be declared in education.
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