Why NOUN candidates dona��t write JAMB test, by VC

By Felix Khanoba
The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) says its decision on the non-requirement of Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) exam in its admission process is to provide massive opportunity for Nigerians to acquire university education.
The universitya��s Vice Chancellor (VC), Prof. Abdalla Uba Adamu, stated this in Abuja on Monday during NOUNa��s Faculty of Health Science maiden public lecture.
He said that NOUN has remained the best in the provision of university education to the masses, adding that the institution can currently boost of 150,000 registered and active students.
a�?We are the best because we provide opportunities for people who could not have been able to get university education. NOUN does not require JAMB; (just) five credits including English language and Mathematics and you are in. We are the only one that provides that opportunity for millions of people who took JAMB again and again.
a�?NOUN also provides opportunity that no other university provides for women. We provide scholarships for some women in some communities. In 2016, the best graduating student from this university with a first class was a woman from an Internally-Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Yola,a�? the VC said.
Speaking on the lecture with the theme: a�?Achieving Universal Health Coverage Through PHC: Lessons from Nigeriaa��s Saving One Million Lives Programme for Resultsa�?, the guest lecturer, Dr. Ibrahim Kana, called for more robust approach to ensuring that everybody in the country has access to quality healthcare.
Kana, who lamented the poor state of infant and maternal health in the country, said that more human and financial resources should be committed to primary healthcare centres to attain Universal Health Coverage.
Earlier, the Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Dr. Jane-Frances Obiageli Agbu, said the university provides a platform to raise health workers who would play various roles in the health sector.
She said that the faculty which runs fully accredited B.Sc programmes in Nursing, Public Health and Environmental Health, is considering proposals for Masters and PhD in Nursing Science and Public Health.
The chairman of the occasion and Minister of State for Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, commended the guest speaker and NOUN for their various academic achievements.