Some medical science students of the University of Calabar on Wednesday protested alleged cancellation of their admissions by the university authority.
Some of the protesting students told newsmen that the university management ordered them to change their programmes after they had completed a full academic session.
One of them, Blessing Okon, said that she was duly admitted and registered to study nursing, but was being forced to change to another programme of study.
“I have paid my fees and completed my first year in the programme. I am supposed to be in year two.
“This issue started after our examination. We started seeing ‘change of programme’ notice on our portals. No explanation or prior communication was given,” she said.
Also speaking, Emmanuel Ekanem, a student of Medicine and Surgery, said that no fewer than 800 students were affected in the department.
Ekanem said that the university was asking them to change their programmes even after scoring the approved Cumulative Grade Point Average.
Effiong Bassey, a parent, described the university’s decision as ‘unfair and heartbreaking.’
Bassey said that the alleged cancellation of admission had caused severe emotional stress among parents and students.
He urged the university to reverse the decision in the interest of fairness and justice, saying that students should not be punished over the university’s administrative errors”
In his reaction, the university’s Public Relations Officer, Dr Effiong Eyo, said that some of the protesting students were not officially admitted to study medicine or nursing in the university.
He said that some of the students secured admission through illegal windows and were not listed on the JAMB admission portal.
