By Felix Khanoba
The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) says about 1,500 of its law programme’s graduates have gained admission into the Nigerian Law School.
Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Olufemi Peters, who made this known on Tuesday in Abuja during a press briefing to herald the 11th convocation of NOUN, said another 1,500 law graduates from the institution would soon be enrolled into the law school.
The VC said NOUN has agreed on a special arrangement with the law school that would see enrolment of its law graduates in batches.
“We have about a thousand and five hundred graduards of our law programme currently in the law school. We have about the same number that are yet to be enrolled at the law school.
“The reason I said we have a special relationship with them (Law School) is because they are not sure of the kind of graduates we are producing. The idea is let us try them first. They have tried us now and they found competence in terms of the people we are producing.
“We are waiting for this batch to finish, which is most likely this year. The next batch will come,” he said.
Speaking on the 11th convocation ceremony scheduled for 26 March, 2022, Prof. Peters said a total of 22,250 students would be graduating from its undergraduate and postgraduate programmes spread across eight faculties.
Giving a breakdown on the number of graduates, the VC said 16,681 students scaled through undergraduate programmes while 5,569 are graduating from postgraduate school, adding that 25 inmates of the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) are among the new graduates.
“We have 25 inmates, one is graduating with M.Sc and the remaining 24 from undergraduate (programmes). All these (inmates) are sponsored for free by the university,” Prof. Peters said.
While saying 69 graduating students would bag First Class degrees during the convocation, the VC said all first-class graduands, award winners, master’s degree and PhD graduands will hold an on-site ceremony at the university headquarters located in Jabi, Abuja, even as other graduands will hold the ceremony at their study centres in the various state capitals.
Prof Peters, however, revealed that the convocation ceremony would be preceded by the convocation lecture on Friday, March 25, to be delivered by Professor Osita Ogbu.
Highlighting some of the innovations being introduced into NOUN since assuming office in February 2021, the Vice Chancellor said NOUN courses are now easily accessible online as the institution is fully technology compliant.
He said the entrepreneurship programme of the University has also received a massive boost, adding that plans are underway to introduce an ‘E-ticket’ system that will allow students to make requests on their programme online and get immediate feedback.
On staff, the Vice Chancellor said he had upped the game on staff welfare , particularly in the area of conference attendance and promised to sustain the momentum.
Prof. Peters commended the chairman of NOUN’s governing council, Prof. Peter Okebukola, for his massive support for the institution even as he congratulated him on his conferment as professor emeritus by Lagos State University.
