Dentistry: UniCal VC vows to resolve quota crisis before leaving office

CALABAR (Sundiata Scholar) – Prof. Florence Obi, Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar (UniCal), has vowed to resolve the ongoing quota crisis in the institution’s Dentistry programme before leaving office.
Obi, in a press conference on Tuesday in Calabar,

explained that the crisis was as a result of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN)’s refusal to induct 2016 Dentistry students of UniCal.

She further explained that the MDCN frowned at the number of the students to be inducted as it exceeded the 10-students per admission quota allocated to the institution for Dentistry Department.

She said that the Dentistry programme commenced in 2013/2014 academic session and in 2022, the MDCN granted the programme full accreditation but advised the University to halt further admissions into the programme.

Obi said that the MDCN advised the halting to enable it work out the modalities for the graduating students already in the programme, following years of over-admission.

She explained that the institution over admitted students into the programme as against the MDCN stipulated quota for university due to inadequate facilities to train higher number of students.

She recalled that the quota given to UniCal by the MDCN was 10 students per session, but said the university currently had 2016 students who were about 60 in number awaiting induction which MDCN refused to approve.

According to her, I know that I still have a few months to go, and I want to resolve this issue within my tenure.
“I will feel very bad if I leave without solving this problem and the students are left hanging without knowing their fate. I won’t be fulfilled,” she said.

The VC added that the university was working in partnership with the Minister of Education and the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) to upgrade its facilities and increase its quota.

Speaking further, Obi said that some of the affected students demanded to be transferred to the Department of Medicine and Surgery but said it was not the solution as the department was already saturated.

According to her, adding more students would only create further confusion in a system already under pressure.
She clarified that the Department of Dentistry was not

being shut down, contrary to certain claims, but to adhere to the stipulated quota and transfer the students exceeding the quota to other accredited institutions offering Dentistry.

Obi assured that the process of retaining and transferring students would be transparent, and all affected students would be given equal opportunities to choose the university they wished to continue with.

She urged the affected students to remain calm, noting that the university was doing everything possible to resolve the issues before the end of her tenure.

However, many of the affected students, who were seen around the VC’s office in their ward coats, have rejected the MDCN and UniCal’s proposal to be transferred, but instead, to complete their programme in UniCal.. (NAN)