A 500-level nursing student expelled by Madonna University in Rivers State over a viral online challenge has asked the school to give her and the other affected students another chance.
She said she does not know how to explain the situation to her mother after so many years of study.
She is one of the students punished over a video of nursing students dancing inside the university’s teaching hospital.
She made her emotional plea in a video that has also gone viral.
She asked how she would explain it to her mother after all these years, and said she is one of about a dozen students who were expelled.
The video was part of the Gen Z nurses trend online. It showed the students dancing in different parts of the hospital, including a waiting area, a staircase and a bus.
It was reportedly captioned, No fall sick o, na Gen Z full hospital now. It was posted in August and spread more widely after social media blogs shared it.
A 15-second version posted online, on September 1 reportedly got more than 1.7 million views, and the original account was later made private.
Madonna University confirmed that the video was recorded in its teaching hospital and said it took disciplinary action against the students involved.
Some Nigerians have backed the school, saying future nurses should understand the standards expected of them and how sensitive it is to film entertainment content in a hospital.
Others have asked for mercy.
The National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, has joined the call for leniency.
Its President, Akinteye Babatunde Afeez, agreed that the students’ conduct was wrong and below what is expected of nursing students.
But he asked the university to reconsider, saying expulsion is a grave punishment that can change the course of a young person’s life.
He urged the school to replace it with a stern warning, noting that the students had put in years, money and hopes to become nurses.
NANS asked the school management to show compassion, save the students’ future and give them a second chance.
NUNSA and other groups are also calling on the university to review the sanctions.
About the Author
