The aggrieved students lamented how much they had put into paying school fees and other dues alongside the money spent on assignments and projects.
Some students of the University of Calabar have questioned the school's credibility after its Vice-Chancellor, Professor Florence Obi, allegedly requested that final-year students in some selected departments return to 200 level over accreditation issues.
The aggrieved students lamented how much they had put into paying school fees and other dues alongside the money spent on assignments and projects over the years and how the development had left them unsettled.
The students, who spoke with SaharaReporters, said they look forward to a revocation of the order by the Vice-Chancellor so that they can finish up their programmes without any problems.
They alleged that the President of the school's Students' Union Government had been bribed by the Vice-Chancellor who bought him a car.
Another student also stated that the heads of the affected departments had done nothing to rectify the issue as they were all scared of the Vice-Chancellor.
One of the students said, “The Vice-Chancellor still insisted that we must go back to 200 level without considering us. The head of the department is doing nothing and the SUG President is also mute, he has decided not to fight for our rights simply because the VC bought him a car.
“The SUG is aware of this issue but they have done nothing. The HOD and the lecturers, they are all scared of the woman. They should know that we have spent money so far to get to this level.
“Some of us sponsor ourselves in school. Most of us do different things just to go to school. If things are not handled well, some people can commit suicide because they might not have the courage to bear it.
“Many of us sponsor ourselves and after all these years of struggling to pay school fees, feed and ensure we do well so we can graduate and continue with life, all these things are coming to play.
“Many of us engage in hard labour to raise school fees. When we go back to Warri, Delta State, we engage in strenuous jobs so we can get money to pay school fees, buy materials to carry out projects and assignments when we get back for the semester.
“Some of our ladies in Lagos work in bars and pubs as waitresses for a while, especially during the holidays. The country is really hard, everybody is struggling to make ends meet. Parents cannot afford school fees and we chose to raise it ourselves and now, we are asked to get back to a level we've passed, it's so unfair.”
Another student said the affected students are planning to send a letter to the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu so an end can come to the problem.
“We will file a letter to the minister of education so he will get to know about this, our voices must be heard.
“This is simply to show that they have been fooling us, they now want us to go back to 200 level and start all over again, how is that even possible?
“The HOD has not been able to do anything, he is just joining meetings upon meetings. They have not been able to come up with anything reasonable,” the student said.
Another student said, “Is this school a scam? Is this not how fraudsters behave? We were given admission letters by the school, they were not forged, they are official. Now it seems like the school is saying that our admission was a scam. We paid school fees, from 100 level up till now and we are asked to go back to a particular level, where have all the fees we paid over the years gone?”