Dozens of University of Jos dental students have taken to the streets to protest the non-accreditation of their courses, which has resulted in them spending over ten years in school without graduating.
The students, on Wednesday, blocked the university gate at its Permanent site, singing solidarity songs and carrying placards with different inscriptions which read, “Save us from unending depression,” “Our future is on hold,” “Accredit us now,” and “We are tired of UNIJOS,” among others.
The President of the Jos University Dental Students Association, Mr Johnson Titus, who spoke on behalf of the students, demanded that the management address their plight and provide a solution to their predicament.
“What you see behind me is the frustration of dental students who have been in the university for the past ten years without graduating. We have been stagnating because of the non-accreditation of our programme.
The student leader who blamed the University for their plight added, “Nobody should blame us because if the university is going to do screening and admission, they don’t usually inform students that there is no accreditation for the affected programme.
“The University of Jos did not inform anyone that there is no accreditation for the dental courses, for which they admitted us. If we had known, we probably wouldn’t have applied for the course.
“And also, if the university knew that there is no accreditation, why would they put Dentistry on their website for students to apply for admission. We feel the university is still at fault for the situation we have found ourselves.”
Punch/Abdullahi Oladipo
