Students protest over UNICAL pharmacy accreditation delay

Students of the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Calabar (UNICAL), on Thursday staged a peaceful march within the campus, alleging that the institution’s management has frustrated the accreditation of their programme.

They accused the university of years of neglect, underfunding, and poor infrastructure, which they said had stalled approval by the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN).

A student, Ndifreke Okowo, said the pharmacy programme, which began in 2016 under former Vice Chancellor, Prof. Zana Akpagu, had suffered continuous setbacks due to the university’s failure to meet basic accreditation standards.

“We have suffered continuous setbacks because the university has failed to meet the basic standards set by NUC and PCN. We got to 400 level when we were suddenly told we had been running an illegal programme. Now, we are in 600 level with no laboratories, no seats, and no assurance that we can graduate as licensed pharmacists.”Okowo said.

He explained that although the current Vice Chancellor, Prof. Florence Obi, completed the faculty building, it has remained unequipped and unfurnished.

“Our labs are empty, and some of us sit on the floor during lectures. The authorities keep promising that PCN will visit soon, but nothing has happened,” he said.

Another student, Iris Johnson, described the situation as “disheartening,” noting that repeated assurances from the university’s leadership had not yielded results.

“We have been promised several times that the PCN will come for accreditation between October and November, but that has not happened. The Vice Chancellor is leaving office soon, and we fear what happened to Dentistry may repeat itself,” she said.

The students also decried the shortage of lecturers, alleging that some departments had only two or three academic staff members handling hundreds of students. 

They called on the federal and state governments, as well as the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria, to intervene urgently to prevent the collapse of the programme and secure their academic future.

When contacted, the university’s Public Relations Officer, Dr. Effiong Eyo, said he was not aware of the development, adding that he would make inquiries.

Calls to the Vice Chancellor’s office were not returned as of press time.

The Guardian reported months back that the Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar, Professor Florence Obi, called for calm and understanding as the institution works to resolve issues affecting the induction of its dentistry graduates, following concerns raised by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria over excess admissions.

Speaking at a press briefing held at the University Council Chamber, Professor Obi addressed growing concerns over the stalled induction of 31 dentistry graduates and clarified widespread misinformation circulating on social media.

The unfolding situation, which has caused distress among students and parents alike, stems from what the Vice Chancellor described as a “historical over-subscription” of the dentistry programme, a structural issue that predates her administration.

“In line with the quota of 10 students per session granted by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) since 2016, the university, unfortunately, did not adhere to the admission limits. That is what we are now trying to rectify,” she said.

Professor Obi explained that although the university secured full accreditation for clinical dentistry in 2020, valid until 2027, its consistent breach of enrolment quotas led to the MDCN’s recent refusal to induct the 31 graduates who passed their final exams. A total of 60 students formed the affected graduating set.