Madonna University, Elele, Rivers State, has suspended 14 nursing students and expelled one of their colleagues following a viral TikTok video recorded on the university premises.
The students, reportedly in their final year, came under disciplinary action after the video showing nursing students dancing in a hospital environment surfaced on social media and generated widespread reactions.
The video, which was reportedly posted in August as part of a social media trend involving so-called “Gen Z nurses”, showed the students dancing while wearing their nursing uniforms.
Reports said the video carried the caption, “No fall sick o, na Gen Z full hospital now.”
Following the controversy generated by the video, the university reportedly investigated the incident before its Senate imposed disciplinary measures on the students.
While 14 students were suspended, one student, identified as Mercy, was expelled from the university. She was reportedly among the students seen in the video and was said to be a 500-level nursing student.
The disciplinary action has, however, attracted calls for leniency from student bodies.
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has reportedly appealed to the university to reconsider the expulsion and replace it with a less severe punishment.
The Nigerian Universities Nursing Students’ Association is also said to have intervened, with efforts reportedly underway to seek a review of the sanctions.
The university’s Director of Communications and Public Affairs was quoted as saying that the institution would issue an official statement on the matter.
The development has renewed debate over the use of social media by students in professional programmes, particularly where videos recorded within clinical or hospital environments are involved.
For now, the reported disciplinary measures are 14 suspensions and one expulsion, pending any further decision by the university following the appeals for reconsideration.
