A WAVE of outrage has erupted online following news that over 300 Dental students of the University of Calabar (UNICAL) might be forced out of the institution because the school exceeded its admission quota for the Dentistry programme.
The students, some of whom are already in their sixth — final — year at the university’s College of Medical Sciences, were recently informed that they might not be allowed to graduate, register with the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) — the regulatory body — or continue their studies, due to accreditation constraints caused by the school’s disregard for admission quotas.
Findings by The ICIR showed that the university management has also declared the admission into the 100 level ‘illegal’ due to the same accreditation issue.
A source privy to the matter in the university told The ICIR that the school vice chancellor, Florence Banku Obi, confirmed the development during a meeting with the provost, faculty stakeholders and the parents.
“Our school was asked not to admit year one until our accreditation and quota problems are resolved. But they went ahead to admit. She (the VC) stated at the meeting that their admissions were illegal and that there is no year one,” the source said.
The source further noted that the year one students had paid tuition and had received lectures, adding that they were even writing exams when the VC made the revelation.
The ICIR also gathered that the university is allowed a 10-student annual limit by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), but admitted far more than the quota at all levels. A check from MDCN shows that as of July 2025 the quota for the school is 10.
For instance, The ICIR gathered that the the university currently has 39 students in Year 6B, 97 in Year 5A and 128 in Year 5B, and over 60 newly admitted students. However, due to the quota restriction, the university was instructed not to admit new students and, as a result, does not have any students in Year 2 and 3. The school did not respond to inquiries to confirm the data.
“The school was asked to stop admissions. This was a directive by the MDCN to curb the number problem. But they opened it last year,” the source said.
The source added that “We were told that our faculty had to transfer some students to other schools because we have far exceeded our quota of 10. Our final year students cannot do sponsio with their medical counterparts and have to wait till the end of the year, when hopefully we have fulfilled some of the requirements by MDCN.”
The source noted that the university management had promised the graduating class (Year 6B) that they would graduate from the institution by the end of the year, adding that the remaining students were informed they would be transferred to other schools, with only 10 students retained in each class.
Reacting, many Nigerians have taken to social media to express anger and solidarity under the trending hashtag #SaveDentalStudentsofUNICAL.
They are demanding justice for the affected students and accountability from the university and its regulatory bodies.
They also appealed to the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, and the Minister of State, Iziaq Salako, to urgently intervene in the matter.
A social media user with the profile name ‘DrMel,’ who claimed to be a former student of the same institution, said the issue had been a longstanding one, with the management doing nothing to prevent it.
“My colleagues and I were the first set of Dental students to graduate from UNICAL, and the things we went through can be made into a tragic movie script
“You’d think the school would learn from this, but here we have a university admitting a huge number of students, knowing fully well the quota is 10. What was your plan for them? They paid school fees, paid levies, bought texts, wasted time and effort, and now the solution is to transfer? To where? Other schools that have their own quota?” he wrote.
NADS attributes crisis to administrative failure
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Association of Dental Students (NADS), in a statement released on July 11, condemned the scandal. It described the development as ‘inhumane’ and a result of “administrative failure.”
“These actions have not only breached regulatory guidelines but have also placed the futures of hundreds of innocent students at risk. Most alarming is the report that some final-year students, having spent over seven to eight years in training, were bluntly told by a university official to “go and learn a trade.”
“This is an appalling and inhumane response to a situation caused solely by administrative actions,” the group wrote.
It further demanded that the university management immediately suspend any directive asking students to transfer or abandon their dental education.
It also asked the management to come up with a clear and transparent roadmap to resolve the crisis.
The ICIR reached out to the university’s Dean of Students’ Affairs, Patrick Egaga; he said he would get back with detailed information on the situation. He said he was not “currently on the ground.”
Efforts to also obtain the school’s reaction to this report through the Dean of the Faculty of Dentistry, Otasowie Osunde, also proved abortive, as calls to his line were not answered, and a text message sent to him was not replied to as of press time.
The ICIR has reached out to the MDCN and will provide updates when a response is received
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M