Bola Tinubu has instructed the Ministry of Education to incorporate graduates of the National Open University into the National Youth Service Corps program.
Furthermore, Tinubu has addressed the issue of NOUN Law graduates being denied access to Law School, ensuring they receive equal opportunities.
Moreover, Tinubu has addressed a longstanding issue by allowing NOUN Law graduates to enroll in Law School, ensuring equal opportunities for all aspiring lawyers in the country.
This announcement came during Tinubu’s speech at the 13th convocation ceremony of NOUN, held at the university’s Convocation Arena in Jabi, Abuja, on Saturday.
Previously, in 2017, NOUN graduates were given assurances by the former vice-chancellor, Abdallah Adamu, regarding their eventual inclusion in the NYSC and the Nigerian Law School.
Now, with Tinubu’s directive, these promises are being fulfilled, marking a significant milestone in the quest for educational equity in Nigeria.
READ ALSO: BREAKING: EFCC Secures Court Warrant for Yahaya Bello’s Arrest
Adamu, in an interview, said, “The fact is that the National University Commission law doesn’t allow those who do part-time studies to do NYSC, and the original Act that established NOUN says we offer courses by correspondence, and that is the expression NYSC is using to say ‘if it’s a correspondence course, then it is part-time, if it’s part-time, then the students are not eligible for NYSC.’
Several years later, a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt dismissed a lawsuit brought forth by Law graduates of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) seeking admission to the Nigerian Law School.
The legal action was initiated on May 12, 2015, by certain graduates of NOUN’s Law Department against the Council of Legal Education, the National Universities Commission, the Attorney General of the Federation, and NOUN itself. Their grievance stemmed from being denied entry into the Law School despite their qualifications.
Their plea to the court was to mandate the relevant authorities to enable NOUN graduates to join the Nigerian Law School, akin to graduates from other institutions.
However,Bola Tinubu issued a new directive through the Deputy Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Biodun Saliu, who represented him at the convocation on Saturday.
Tinubu emphasized that this opportunity is now available to NOUN graduates, falling within the age bracket permitted by the law.
He said, “With the changing demographics of our great nation, the government has recognised the importance of allowing NOUN graduates to participate in the NYSC scheme.
“The doors of the Law School are now open to the graduates, ensuring equal opportunities for all. Any remaining concerns or uncertainties should be promptly addressed by the Federal Ministry of Education.
“We will continue to do this in order to improve quality, access, and affordability.
“Government is, therefore, committed through the Federal Ministry of Education and the NUC to provide the enabling environment to ensure a good delivery of this mode of education in Nigeria.”
