Contrary to the information making rounds that there is demotion of students in Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Calabar (UNICAL), the Dean of Pharmacy Faculty, Prof. (Mrs) Mbang Femi-Oyewo, has described the news as fake, lacking authentic source.
Pharmanewsonline garnered that the news circulating on social media as published on Operanewsapp with the headline “University of Calabar: The faculty of Pharmacy demotes all year 3 and year 4 students to year 2”, indicated that due to a change in the “academic curriculum of the faculty of Pharmacy, from Pharm-D to Pharm-B in her quest for accreditation, students in higher classes (400L & 300L) have been instructed to start afresh from 200L with the new academic”.
Investigating this development, Pharmanewsonline in a telephone conversation with Prof. Femi-Oyewo, learnt that the said publication was false, as she noted that no official of the faculty non the university has made that information available to them on official ground, as it is still subject to approval by regulatory agencies.
“It is fake news, as a lot of fake news thrive on social media now a days, without authentic source. There is no official statement from the school to that effect as the faculty is yet to take a decision on that. So when we are ready to decide on it, after being accredited by the NUC, we will make our official statement to the public”, she stated.
The Dean of Pharmacy Faculty, UNICAL further explained on the situation: “Although we are trying to switch from B.Pharm to PharmD, which will be to the advantage of students, however, we are still awaiting clearance from the National Universities Commission and the university management.
“It appears some students are jittery over the intended transition programme, but it has not been authenticated, and we don’t want anyone to make false claims on our behalf, until we get approval from the NUC, PCN and the school management”, she quipped.
Speaking with students on the intended transition, some expressed their support for the change, provided it will boost their overall career positively.
For Akpaso Ikanke-Abasi, outgoing president, Pharmaceutical Association of Nigerian Students (PANS) UNICAL, the decision is yet to be taken, as approval is being awaited.
She said: “The NUC and PCN haven’t come to make any final decision yet. So we’re all waiting before we can conclude on any news. My expectation is to have the faculty accredited and for us to graduate at the right time”.
Another student of the faculty, who preferred to speak on the ground of anonymity, also applauded the development, and urged the faculty to hasten the process, if it going to be or not, for students to know their fate in time.
His words: “It's a very good development for us, here at UNICAL regarding the fact that the world is moving towards the PharmD trend. My expectations are simple, I just want the school and the faculty to put all hands on deck to pull this new development off”, he noted.
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