12/07/2025
NIGERIAN UNION OF CAMPUS JOURNALISTS
UNIVERSITY OF CALABAR COUNCIL
12-07-2025
SUG Holds Dialogue with Faculty of Dentistry Student Leaders Over Ongoing Crisis
Reporting...
Emmanuel Benjamin
Umoh Samuel
Okonkwo Goodluck
Earlier today, the President of the Students’ Union Government, Sen. Obo Emmanuel, convened a crucial meeting between the leadership of the Calabar University Dental Students Association (CUDENSA) and the executives of the Students’ Union Government. The meeting commenced at approximately 3:20 PM at Hall 2, Medical Hostel.
In his opening remarks, Sen. Obo warmly welcomed attendees and expressed his appreciation to both the SUG executives and CUDENSA leaders for honoring the invitation. He emphasized the importance of students speaking personally and constructively about the issues at hand, urging them to propose tangible solutions to the challenges they face.
Following this, the CUDENSA President, Comr. Henry Ago, was invited to present the current challenges faced by students in the Faculty of Dentistry—a task he handled with clarity and depth.
During the session, Sen. Obo revealed that one of the proposals under consideration is for affected students to complete their academic programs at the University of Calabar and then proceed to another institution to finalize requirements.
He further disclosed, based on information from the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Florence Banku Obi, that other faculties—including Pharmacy, Law, Medical Laboratory Science, and Environmental Science—may soon face similar challenges.
According to the Speaker of the Parliament of Dentistry, after speaking on the needs of the Faculty and how it would help in the accreditation of the faculty. A member of the Year5A class who voiced out his opinion that merging of his class of about 97 students wouldn’t be and option since some of his colleagues would be taken to a class below, be further stated that there are no lecturers to teach them and expressed how tight his class is for any movement in terms of transfer of students and how it can’t be feasible at the moment. He concluded by suggesting that the only option for his class now is an increment in the Quota for graduation.
According to Sen OBO Emmanuel, in his statement “I was made to understand that the quota for medicine is 300 which is not applied to other classes but only to year 1 class”. He added that the Faculty of Dentistry cannot be dissolved but rather some students would be transferred leaving some executives and few persons in each classes.
However, in opposition to this the Vice President of the Faculty of Dentistry in her statement asked, “How many dental students do we have?, what are the numbers of students that are willing to accept the transfer?”. In her further statement she further said that she would not accept the transfer of students that if any student is transferred, some would be left stranded during transfer, bringing to the house on students who were transferred from Igbinedion University and weren’t accepted but rather left them stranded not in their school neither are there in UNICAL, she added that merging might be preferred in the case if the implementation of the 300 Quota for graduation would be carried out.
Speaking from the class leaders, suggesting that, the stability of other dental schools are not still strong in consideration of transfer of students since complains from other Provost of various schools Showing how UNICAL has been owing their dental lecturers and has decided that they won’t accept any student from UNICAL, also stating that the matter should be resolved from within which would be by merging with Medicine which would be of better solution for now.
Statements from the last person who said that they were made to pay the highest exam levy of 40,000, which the Vice Chancellor addressed as Professional Training Levies, paid one of the highest fees, and still the necessary equipments are not provided, “we tend to solve other school problem by accepting their transfer students but yet still can’t resolve our own problems by allowing Dental students absorb into medicine”, further adding to this “we are suffering from the incompetence of the management”.
This brought the SUG president to conclude the meeting by listing deliberated issues and promised them that the addressed matter would be treated appropriately.
Signed:
Naomi Atem
Editor-in-chief,
Nigerian Union of Campus Journalists,
University of Calabar Council (NUCJ-UCC)
Comr. Eteng Success Augustine
President,
Nigerian Union of Campus Journalists,
University of Calabar Council (NUCJ-UCC)
