Inside Nigeria’s Medical schools where fear of failure fuels mental stress

When Oluoma Njoku, a medical student at Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe University, received the letter notifying her of her withdrawal from medical school, she said her fears were not about academics. 

Instead, she worried about shame. She feared her family, especially her father, who had invested heavily in her education and supported her dreams of becoming a doctor. 

In the days that followed, she withdrew from friends and struggled emotionally. 

“At those moments, these thoughts fuel my thought that maybe if I end it, I will find a way not to go through the shame”, she said. 

Her experience reflects the struggles faced by some Health Science students in Nigerian universities, where academic setbacks can come with emotional and psychological consequences.

Within seven months, both the University of Ibadan (U.I.) and Obafemi Awolowo University (O.A.U.) recorded at least one suicide involving a medical student, with colleagues linking the incidents to academic pressure and the trauma associated with withdrawal from medical school.  

Students interviewed by Campus Reporter described medical training as a system where failure is treated not simply as an academic setback, but as the collapse of identity, family expectations, and years of sacrifice. 

The Fear is constant

Medical education in many Nigerian universities operates as a strict progression system. 

Students are expected to pass each stage before moving to the next. Unlike many other courses where students carry over failed subjects or remain in school despite poor grades, repeated failure in medical school can lead to withdrawal from the program entirely. 

Students say this structure creates constant fear of failure. 

 “The fear it gives to medical students is unexplainable,”  a medical student at UI, Ayomide Ojo, said 

“Even those who are academically buoyant still ensure that they are cautious, smart, and consistent with their schoolwork and requirements because the college is not respectful of whoever is caught inadequate or gives a chance to mediocrity,” he said.  

At both UI and OAU, students described schedules filled with lectures, ward rounds, laboratory work, and continuous examination.

A 200-level student at OAU, Deborah Olawale, said students often spend most of their day in lectures before returning to study late into the night. 

“For me, it’s the classes, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. almost every day,” she said.  

“They expect us to read every slide they drop alongside textbooks within a short period.” 

For Precious Ojo, the pressure intensifies during clinical postings. The 300-level student at UI said students attend ward rounds from Monday to Friday until late in the evening and still prepare for end-of-posting examinations. 

Another student, Toluwalopemi Ososanya, said the pressure extends beyond academics.

 “Keeping up with schoolwork while struggling with feeding and other daily issues is stressful,” he said.

Health science school shatters the bubble 

Several students told CAMPUS Reporter that emotional pressure becomes worse because many students enter health science school with histories of academic excellence. 

A final-year medical student,Ogunlana Klistivivi, said many students experience failure for the first time after entering medical school. 

“The reality is that for the majority of students entering medical school, they were the best of the best in their previous life. But medical school shatters that bubble,” he said. 

“Imagine someone getting 90s in secondary school, only to get a 40 in his first medical school exam, and worse still, the 40 is now pasted in full glare for everyone to see. 

Some students identified public release of results and negative marking as practices that deepen emotional distress.

According to Mr Klistivivi, students often leave examination halls uncertain because wrong answers can reduce their total scores.

“Medical school on its own is a whole lot of stress, and the stress can place a lot of mental strain on people,” he added. 

Studies have also highlighted the mental health burden associated with medical training.  A 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis on suicidal behavior in Nigeria found that 12.4 percent of 121 medical students studied reported suicidal ideation, translating  to roughly one in every eight medical students.

Another research analysis published on PubMed, which surveys 129,123 medical students across several countries, found a prevalence of depression of 27.2 percent and suicidal ideation was 11.1 percent. 

The study also recommended  further research to identify strategies for preventing and treating depression among medical students 

More than academics 

Beyond academic demands, students said societal expectations attached to medicine also contribute to pressure.

Many said entering a health science school often comes with immediate social recognition and family pride, increasing the fear of disappointing others.

“Mostly, it is just playful banter. But sometimes it does place a certain level of expectation that students will struggle to reach, even at the detriment to their own health and safety,” Mr Ososanya said. 

For some students, withdrawal from health science school is viewed not simply as leaving a course, but as losing an identity built over many years.

This emotional burden, students said, partly explains why some withdrawn students withdraw socially, struggle psychologically, or experience depression.

Despite these concerns, some students defended the strict system, arguing that medicine requires high standards because doctors handle human lives.

 A 300-level Nursing student, Moyosoreoluwa Ali, said the fear of withdrawal can motivate students to remain serious. 

“I don’t view it as a bad thing to be honest, because for someone to be withdrawn from college, then the person must have reached some certain criteria that is irredeemable,” she explained. 

However, she also acknowledged that students need stronger emotional support systems. 

Calls for reform and mental health support

Students interviewed called for reforms within colleges of health science, particularly around mental health support.

Some recommended counselling services dedicated to health science students, while others suggested private release of results instead of public displays.

“There should be more emphasis on student mental health,” Mr Ososanya said.

Ms Moyosoreoluwa also recommended regular mental health seminars and one-on-one counselling sessions for struggling students.

Others argued that lecturers should reduce excessive workloads and ensure examinations remain within approved course outlines.

Although universities maintain that strict academic standards are necessary for professional competence, students insist that mental health support should not be ignored within the process.

Campus Reporter reached out to one of the deans in the College of Health Sciences, the Dean of Nursing Science, Professor Adesola Ogunfowokan at OAU, for comments on students’ concerns about academic pressure and mental health support, but she said she was unavailable for an interview. 

Hope beyond medicine

For Ms Njoku, life after withdrawal remains uncertain, but she says she is gradually learning to move forward.

She has accepted a transfer into another course while still considering alternative routes back into medicine in the future.

“I’ll take another course the school gave me, and after my 400-level, I may end up doing a direct entry into medicine.”

Some former health science students have also rebuilt their careers outside health sciences.

Ms Adejoke Lasisi, an alumna of OAU, left medical school after three academic sessions and later graduated with a third-class degree.

Today, she is the founder of Planet 3R, a company focused on transforming plastic and textile waste into reusable products.

Her story has become a source of encouragement for students struggling with academic setbacks.

Quoting physicist Albert Einstein, she said: “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing