Texas college rejects Nigerian applicants, cites Ebola cases

A Texas college has ignorantly refused to accept two Nigerian students who are seeking admission in the U.S. over Ebola outbreak. Part of the letter reads

''Unfortunately, Navarro College is not accepting international students from countries with confirmed Ebola cases."

Navarro College, a two-year community college whose campus is about 58 miles from Dallas has sent two letters to one of the students who is a Texas man originally from Nigeria named Kamorudeen Abidogun.

In an exclusive chat with CNBC, Abidogun disclosed that the college who cited Ebola cases in Nigeria as grounds for their actions had also rejected the applications of about five of his relatives from Ibadan, about 80 miles from Lagos, Nigeria who sought admission in the school using his home in Richmond, Texas, as a U.S. mailing address.

"I received, last weekend, two rejection letters ... saying the reason why they were not giving admission was ... Ebola," said Abidogun, a mechanical engineer. He said he was "disappointed" by the school's explanation.

A copy of the letter he provided to CNBC carries the signature of Navarro College's international programs director, Elizabeth Pillans.

The letter begins: "With sincere regret, I must report that Navarro College is not able to offer you acceptance for the Spring 2015 term. Unfortunately, Navarro College is not accepting international students from countries with confirmed Ebola cases."

Idris Bello, a Nigerian who lives in East Texas, tweeted a photo of the letter to bring attention to the situation. Bello, in an interview with CNBC, called the college's purported policy "embarrassing."

In his tweet, Bello noted the irony of the school apparently having such a policy for foreign students given its proximity to Dallas, where Thomas Eric Duncan of Liberia died of the disease on Oct. 8.

READ MORE