UNICAL Pharmacy students fear programme collapse over lack of accreditation

Students of the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Calabar (UNICAL), have accused the institution’s management of frustrating the accreditation process of their programme, citing years of neglect, underfunding, and poor infrastructure that have jeopardized their academic future.

During a peaceful protest on campus on Thursday, a student, Ndifreke Okowo, told Very Nigerian that the pharmacy programme, which started in 2016 under former Vice Chancellor Prof. Zana Akpagu, has faced continuous setbacks due to the university’s failure to meet basic accreditation standards set by the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN).

“We have suffered continuous setbacks because the institution failed to meet the basic standards required by the NUC and PCN. The university began the programme without proper resource verification by the NUC,” Okowo said.

He added that students were already in 400 level when they were informed that the programme was illegal and instructed to return to 200 level after the NUC’s verification process failed.

According to him, the management later re-applied under the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) framework, but the programme remains unaccredited due to lack of qualified lecturers, poor facilities, and unequipped laboratories.

“Our labs are not equipped; we don’t even have classrooms to sit in. We are in 600 level, but we have no seats or functional laboratories.”

“The PCN has not been invited for accreditation, and without that, we can’t graduate as licensed pharmacists,” he lamented.

Okowo also alleged that funds meant for constructing and furnishing the faculty building were mismanaged by the previous administration.

He, however, commended the current Vice Chancellor, Prof. Florence Obi, for completing the building but faulted her for not providing the necessary furniture and laboratory equipment.

“The University of Calabar is playing with the future of Nigerian youths. They did it to Dentistry, Medicine, and Nursing, and now it’s Pharmacy,” he added.

He further said that the faculty is understaffed, with some departments having only two or three lecturers managing hundreds of students.

“We need at least 50 academic staff, but only a few are available. Even the lecturers are complaining about workload and are threatening to stop teaching,” he said.

Another student, Iris Johnson, described the situation as “disheartening,” lamenting that despite several meetings with the university’s leadership, no tangible progress has been made.

“We were told the PCN would visit between October and November, but that hasn’t happened. The Vice Chancellor will soon leave office, and we fear Pharmacy will end up like Dentistry,” she stated.

The students, numbering over a thousand, appealed to the federal and state governments, as well as the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria, to urgently intervene to prevent the collapse of the programme and protect their academic future.

When contacted, the university’s Public Relations Officer, Dr. Effiong Eyo, said he was not aware of the issue. “I am not aware of this for now. When I get to the school, I will find out and get back to you,” he said.

Efforts to reach the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Florence Obi, were unsuccessful as calls to her phone were not answered as of press time.

Join Very Nigerian WhatsApp Channel
For Verified Breaking News, Exclusive Reports, Trending Stories, And Real-time Updates.
CLICk HERE TO JOIN!