Johnstone Kpilaakaa In the beginning: After his secondary school education, *John Nweke’s dream was to join the regimented ranks of the Nigerian Defence Academy. However, it didn’t work out. The only option left for him was to enrol for a degree programme at a Nigerian university.
“I have never planned to attend a conventional university, so I wasn’t sure where to go. I decided to go with the University of Jos because it was closer to home,” says Nweke who resides in Jos, the capital city of Plateau state with his family.
In 2015, an announcement from the University of Jos (UNIJOS) caught his eye. Hayward Babale Mafuyai, the then vice-chancellor, unveiled a brand new programme: dentistry.
Nweke knew little about it, but he decided to apply for the course during the Joint Admission Matriculation Board’s exams that year. Fortunately, he alongside eight others became part of UNIJOS’ pioneering dentistry class.
“We were quite confused when we came on campus. We didn’t have seniors to guide us and our head of departments or dean never came to address us,” he said. Nweke told JoeyOffAir that the first time that most of them met with the faculty head was in their first year during their second semester exams. “He didn’t exactly address us,” he added.
Nweke and his fellow students didn’t want to be excluded, so they opted to become members of the Jos University Medical Students Association, which represents all medical and nursing students. “We paid our fees, attended their welcome special {an orientation event for new students] amongst others,” according to Nweke.
The woes: However, a harsh reality emerged during their studies. The dentistry program, to their horror, wasn’t accredited by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN). Despite this, the university continued to admit new students, with the faculty’s student population nearing 500.
Several anonymous sources who spoke to JoeyOffAir revealed that Since 2021, dentistry students haven’t taken any exams beyond pathology and pharmacology. “No tests, no exams,” a student said. The university, facing a faculty shortage, relies on guest lecturers from institutions like the University of Ibadan. “These visits are sporadic – a week of intense lectures followed by a five-month hiatus,” Nweke bemoaned, highlighting the disrupted learning pattern.
Just two weeks ago, the final-year students resumed medicine and surgery posting at the Jos University Teaching Hospital after several days at home.
Why it matters: The pioneering dentistry class, originally slated for graduation in 2022, remains in limbo. A relentless barrage of challenges – faculty strikes, the COVID-19 pandemic, and school closures due to the Jos crises – has thrown their academic journey into disarray. Now, in April 2024, another hurdle looms: the program’s lack of accreditation casts a shadow over their graduation date.
Nweke expressed frustration, stating, “There’s nobody we have not approached on this matter.” He listed visits to the university’s chancellor, vice-chancellor, deputy vice-chancellor (academics), and other top management.
Zoom in: On Monday, dental students at UNIJOS took to the streets to protest the lack of accreditation and chronic faculty shortage in their department. “The protest is not going to resolve the issue,” says Ishaya Tanko, vice chancellor of UNIJOS. Tanko, previously the deputy vice-chancellor (academics), explained their frequent visits to the MDCN to secure approval for additional lecturers, but success has yet to materialise.
The MDCN requires universities to provide qualified staff, support personnel, functional facilities, and a detailed curriculum to obtain a five-year dentistry program accreditation, with an additional fee of roughly ₦4 million.
“Last year during the accreditation, 50% of the total amount we spent went into dental surgery. Other departments accused me of doing that but I knew it was a new program and we needed those facilities in order for you to move forward,” Tanko was quoted by the campus publication UNIJOS Echo.
In February, the Plateau State Government donated over 13 dental chairs worth almost ₦50 million to the university’s faculty of dental sciences. While receiving the donation from Governor Caleb Mutfwang. Tanko said the equipment fulfilled a key requirement for the dentistry programme accreditation, potentially ensuring the timely graduation of pioneer dentistry students.
“I understand that…the dean and deputy provost had a meeting, and your president was there. We showed what the management has done and is doing to address the issue of dental students,” he said in another address to the protesting students.
However, the students are demanding a more immediate solution. Nweke explained, “Since accreditation is taking longer than expected and graduation is imminent, we’re proposing a merger with the medical students.” They argue that their curriculum significantly overlaps with medicine, and they’ve already taken most of the required exams.
University management, however, has not expressed support for this proposal, according to students who participated in previous meetings. One student remarked, “We are now appealing to their sense of empathy.”
Vice Chancellor Tanko emphasized that the university is exploring various solutions to address the issues. He did not provide any specific details regarding the student’s proposal for a merger.
Considering the recent cap on medical and dental admissions and graduates (around 300 per session), the dentistry students argue that merging their nine members with the roughly 130 medical students wouldn’t violate regulations. They believe this approach has been implemented at other universities, although JoeyOffAir could not independently verify this claim at the time of publication.
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Editor’s Note: To protect their identities and encourage open communication, some sources spoke on condition of anonymity.
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