Nigerians Calls for Minister’s Intervention as UNICAL Sends Over 300 Dental Students Home Over Admission-Scandal

Reactions and calls for intervention has flooded social media as the University of Calabar (UNICAL) is reported to have made a controversial decision by the Vice Chancellor, Professor Florence Banku Obi, to send home hundreds of students from the Faculty of Dentistry and Dental Surgery over what has been described as gross over-admission beyond the approved quota by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN).

The decision, taken during a meeting with affected students and their parents on Thursday, July 10, has drawn widespread condemnation from students, parents, and concerned Nigerians, many of whom are now calling on the Minister of Education to urgently intervene in what is being labelled a major educational crisis.

According to a report by Sahara Reporters, a memo dated July 7, 2025, from the Office of the Provost, College of Medical Sciences, with reference number UC/CMS/PO/209, invited all dental students and their parents to a meeting with the Vice Chancellor. The notice, signed by Deputy Registrar and College Secretary Mrs. Anita B. Eyo, did not disclose the agenda of the meeting.

However, attendees were stunned when Prof. Obi announced that all dental students from 200 to 600 levels must vacate the campus and return home with their parents until the university resolves the issue of over-admission into the faculty.

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One of the affected students, who spoke on condition of anonymity, expressed shock and frustration. He told reporters that, “there’s a huge injustice going on in the University of Calabar Faculty of Dentistry and Dental Surgery.”

Students allege that the university knowingly admitted more students than allowed by the MDCN, which reportedly set a strict quota of 10 dental graduates per year. In contrast, the university is said to have admitted over 300 students per level in the faculty.

Sources also claim that the Vice Chancellor has banned any form of protest, further deepening the students’ sense of helplessness and injustice. Many of the affected students, who have already spent several years in the program and are close to graduation, are now left in limbo, with their future remaining uncertain as the university has not provided a timeline or a concrete plan for resolution.

Public outrage continues to build across social media, with calls growing louder for the Federal Ministry of Education and the National Universities Commission (NUC) to step in and investigate the matter.

SOS Urgent call here:

I understand that about 300 dental students in the university of Calabar have just been told by their VC that they should withdraw from school and find another university ‘or learn a trade’.

This is after these young people have spent 5-6 years in school.… pic.twitter.com/No5DfqZ4Vm

— #OurFavOnlineDoc 🩺 🇬🇧 (@OurFavOnlineDoc) July 11, 2025

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Oluwasegun Sanusi

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