Veneer cladding?

In our hallway is old wood effect veneer cladding. We’ve had people come round to take a look and pretty much everyone has said ‘ive no idea what that is, it looks like chipboard but it’s more flexible than that’.. So i’ve done some searching and i’m pretty certain it’s a wood effect veneer that’s been glued to the wall.. Issue being is that we want the wall plastering to a smooth surface so it’s has to either come off, or, and the purpose of my question, if it can be plastered over? Ive tried to remove it and it’s an absolute pig to remove as it’s pretty much glued hard to the wall.. any advise would be appreciated