Hundreds of Thousands Paid, No Degree in Sight: UNICAL Dental Students Demand Justice

The University of Calabar’s Faculty of Dentistry has been plunged into crisis after the shocking announcement that it had lost its accreditation, leaving hundreds of students in limbo. Despite paying substantial fees, students say they now feel abandoned, with no refund or clear direction from the university.

According to Genesis (not real name), a student, the breakdown of payments made by students is staggering. For Year 1 students, 62 students paid a total of over N235,080 each, including:

• Acceptance fee: N40,000
• School fees: N134,000
• College dues: N8,080
• Faculty dues: N4,000
• Departmental fees: N6,000
• Exam levy: N40,000
• Student association dues (CUDENSA and COMEDSSA): N3,000

For Year 3 students, 11 students paid around N157,320 each, covering:

• School fees: N104,000
• College dues: N6,320
• Faculty dues: N2,000
• Exam levy: N40,000
• Other dues: N5,000

Year 4 students, split into two groups (43 in 4A and 24 in 4B), paid N158,320 per session, including:

• School fees: N104,000
• College dues: N6,320
• Faculty dues: N2,000
• Exam levy: N40,000
• Departmental fees: N4,000
• Association dues: N2,000
• Basic Clinical Sciences dues: N1,000

Year 5 students (97 in 5A and 128 in 5B) paid N145,320 each, excluding personal costs, including:

• School fees: N92,700
• College dues
• Faculty dues
• Exam levy
• Other charges

Year 5A students are also required to purchase essential dental tools like articulators and dental wax, costing around N150,000 out-of-pocket.

The 39 final-year students in Year 6 had paid about N117,320 each, including:

• School fees
• College dues
• All other compulsory charges

These students were told by the Provost, Professor Ngim I. Ngim, to “go and learn a trade” – words many described as “heartbreaking” and disrespectful of their years of academic struggle and financial investment.

The students have staged a peaceful protest, appealing to the university authorities to resolve the quota issues in line with the guidelines of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN). They urged the school to absorb some of them into the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, pointing out that both departments offer the same courses up until Year 5B.

The Vice Chancellor, Professor Florence Obi, addressed the students, saying she’ll work on a way for transfer, but the students remain skeptical. As of 7:00 p.m. today, the students were still gathered around the premises of the VC’s office, while the VC is in a closed-door meeting with the college body.

One of the protesting students said, “The VC addressed us, saying she’ll work on a way for transfer, but we still disagreed as we’ve always done. For Year 1, she still insisted she doesn’t recognise them.”