By Our Correspondent
The Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar (UNICAL), Prof. Florence Obi, has confirmed that the institution admitted over 60 students into its Dentistry programme far beyond the 10-student quota approved by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN).
Speaking on the crisis that has rocked the Faculty of Dentistry, during a popular breakfast show on Channels Television on Wednesday, the VC revealed that the over-enrollment defied her instructions and was carried out by officials under her watch, whom she held responsible for the breach.
She said the university initially halted admissions into the programme for three consecutive years, following MDCN’s directive to upgrade facilities and address other concerns. However, when admissions resumed, she instructed that only 10 students should be admitted — in line with the quota.
“We were told that if we stop admission, they will work out modalities to help graduate our students. And we did stop admission and they have actually been graduating some sets of our students.
“Unfortunately, this current set of students, about 60 — and that is why we are having problems. And the council is saying this group is over, it’s too much, there are too many.”
Prof. Obi admitted she only became aware of the situation after the students had been admitted and year-one academic work was underway, despite her directive.
“When I was eventually told that they went beyond the 10, I categorically instructed the dean, the provost, and the admission officer that those students have to move out. I was not ready to take chances. We cannot take more than the 10 quota.”
She said both the dean and the admission officer acted outside her instructions and would be held accountable.
“All of them together. The admission officer who went beyond the quota of 10… and when the provost actually drew my attention to the fact that they went beyond the quota of 10, and I insisted that all the students should go, and the dean kept them back.
“So the admission officer and the dean are the two people who are culpable in this.”
On internal disciplinary action, the VC confirmed that sanctions were already underway, beginning with formal queries.
“We are going to invoke the university internal mechanism to put some people first. In the university system, you have to make queries. We have to query some people. We have to invoke internal mechanisms to handle that. But definitely, there will be consequences.”
She also expressed shock upon learning that the students had been recalled after being asked to leave.
“I never knew that we had year one students. We were asked to go, and somebody — the dean — has accepted that he asked them to come back, complete year one.
“In fact, the students told me that they were asked to go, they left, and the dean called them back to come back and register, and that they will leave at the end of year one. That is why we have this.”
Prof. Obi appealed to students and parents for calm, acknowledging the emotional toll the controversy has taken on the affected individuals.
“I want to really appeal to the students and to parents because I’ve read somewhere where students are getting depressed and some of them are threatening suicide.
“I want to really appeal to my students to hold it, to be calm, that on my honor, we’ll see her together with MG Khan. And I’m going to go to my minister to appeal to him to intervene because if we have some staff, which is a critical issue.”
She said the institution is working to find alternative placements for the excess students and hopes to liaise with sister universities to absorb some of them.
“We have worked, we will be working so hard, we have been brainstorming, we have been networking with other universities, we have been networking with other programs within the university, to see where we can take some of these students, the excess students.
“The excess students may likely be asked to go to the universities we have made contacts with and will be willing to take our students.”
