By Cletus Asuquo
Students of the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Calabar (UNICAL), has accused the institutionโs management of frustrating the accreditation process of the pharmacy programme.
They alleged years of neglect, underfunding, and poor infrastructure which have placed their academic future in jeopardy.
Speaking in an interview with journalist during a peaceful march held on campus on Thursday a student, Ndifreke Okowo, said the pharmacy programme, which began in 2016 under former Vice Chancellor Prof. Zana Akpagu, has suffered continuous setbacks due to the universityโs failure to meet basic accreditation standards set by the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN).
According to him, the university started the programme without proper resource verification by the NUC. โWe got to 400 level when we were suddenly told that we had been running an illegal programme. We were asked to go back to 200 level, and the university had to invite NUC for proper verification, which it failed,โ he said.
He explained that the management later re-applied under a new Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) framework, but that the programme has remained largely unaccredited due to lack of qualified lecturers, poor facilities, and unequipped laboratories.
โOur labs are not equipped; we donโt even have classrooms to sit in,โ he lamented. โWe are in 600 level, but we have no seats or functional laboratories. The PCN has not been invited for accreditation, and without that, we canโt graduate as licensed pharmacists.โ
Okowo further alleged that funds meant for the construction and furnishing of the faculty building were mismanaged by the previous administration. He, however, acknowledged that the current Vice Chancellor, Prof. Florence Obi, completed the building but failed to provide the promised furniture and laboratory equipment.
โThe University of Calabar is playing with the future of Nigerian youths,โ Okowo added. โThey have done it to Dentistry, Medicine, and Nursing โ and now itโs Pharmacy.โ
He added that the faculty currently suffers a severe manpower shortage, with some departments having only two or three lecturers handling hundreds of students. โWe need at least 50 academic staff, but only a handful are employed. Even the lecturers are complaining of workload and are threatening to stop teaching,โ he said.
Another student, Iris Johnson, described the situation as โdisheartening,โ noting that despite repeated dialogues with the universityโs leadership, little progress has been made.
โWe have been promised repeatedly that the PCN will come between October and November, but that has not happened. The Vice Chancellor is leaving office soon, and we fear what happened to Dentistry may repeat itself,โ she said.
The students, numbering over a thousand across various levels, called on the federal and state governments, as well as the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria, to intervene urgently to prevent the collapse of the programme and save their years of academic effort.
When contacted, the universityโs Public Relations Officer, Dr. Effiong Eyo, said he was not aware of the situation.
โI am not aware of this for now,โ he told our correspondent. โWhen I get to the school, I will find out and get back to you.โ
Calls put across to the University Vice chancellor Prof Florence Obi were unresponsive as of press time.