Were 300 Students Told To Leave University Of Calabar’s Dentistry Department Due To Accreditation Issue?
On July 14, 2025, a popular online influencer on X claimed that the Department of Dentistry, University of Calabar, was never accredited but kept granting admission to students. The post which has a picture of students donning lab coats is captioned “The dental students of University of Calabar are currently in front of the VC office. Pls kindly lend a voice. Over 300students have been told to leave university and “learn a trade” after the university over-admitted them into a dentistry course the uni was not accredited for. Pls kindly lend your voice. It only takes 2seconds to share this. #SaveDentalStudentsOfUnical #SaveDentalStudentsOfUnical #SaveDentalStudentsOfUnical #SaveDentalStudentsOfUnical #SaveDentalStudentsOfUnical #SaveDentalStudentsOfUnical #SaveDentalStudentsOfUnical #SaveDentalStudentsOfUnical”.
When this report was published, this claim had over 159,000 views and about 7,500 replies, reposts, quotes, likes, and bookmarks. In the comment @tevianshop said “I guess the SUG of that is not active too, they shouldn't be so few like that there” and @Nicolast33 wrote “But the school knew this before admitting those students. They feel it's right to leave now after they've paid so many fees. Wickedness in the highest order! Is the school SUG president imbecile?”
VERIFICATION
CLAIM 1: Were Over 300 Students Told To Leave The Department?
VERIFICATION
According to the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, MDCN’s, official quota list as of July 2025, the University of Calabar, UNICAL, college of medical science is approved to admit only 10 students annually into its dentistry programme. However, findings showed that the university had consistently admitted more than the approved limit across multiple levels.
On July 16, 2025, the vice chancellor of the university, Prof Florence Obi, in an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief confirmed this, describing the situation as depressing. She assured all that an appeal had been made to the Minister of Education for urgent intervention.
VERDICT
The claim that over 300 students were told to leave the department is MISLEADING as she assured the affected students that an appeal has been made to the ministry of education for an urgent intervention.
CLAIM 2: The Department Of Dentistry, University Of Calabar Was Never Accredited
VERIFICATION
According to the university's vice chancellor, the Dentistry programme received pre-clinical accreditation in November 2019 and full clinical accreditation in December 2022, both granted by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, MDCN. The accreditation is valid through 2027.
An accreditation technical report from National Universities Commission, NUC, after an inspection conducted between December 11–14, 2024, rated the programme with a score of 81.60 percent. It awarded FULL accreditation, albeit with deficiencies noted in funding, equipment, and staffing.
VERDICT
The claim that the department of Dentistry, University of Calabar was never accredited is FALSE. Findings reveal that the Dentistry programme received pre-clinical accreditation in November 2019 and full clinical accreditation in December 2022, which is valid through 2027.
CONCLUSION
The claim that the Department of Dentistry, University of Calabar was never accredited and over 300 students were told to leave the department is PARTLY FALSE. The department is fully accredited for the course but was approved to admit only 10 people annually.
