NOUN Partners Turkish University, Enhance Inmates Incentives, Plans Diaspora Centres, Others

National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) has granted a 100 per cent tuition waiver to prison inmates desiring to enroll in the  university across all the study centres in the country in pursuit to its target of making education accessible to all and sundry, especially the less privileged in the society.

The Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof Abdalla Uba Adamu who disclosed this in Abuja while hosting the Vice Chancellor of the Nigerian Turkish Nile University, Prof Huseyin Sert stated that the waiver, which before now was pegged at 50 per cent was reviewed after various considerations to enable inmates who desire to advance in education to do so irrespective of incarceration. 

 Adamu, however regretted that inmates in Nigeria prisons are usually subjected to societal rejection even from families and friends unlike the western world adding that the gesture from NOUN will without doubt, add monumental values as a kind of social support system for acquisition of education in the country.

“Having suffered abandonment by relatives, emotional and physical confinement, prison inmates would see such gesture from NOUN as a measure meant to reduce the burden on them and to provide the platform to improve and make themselves better citizens”, Adamu said.

In a statement signed by the institution’s Director, Media and Publicity of the institution, Malam Ibrahim Sheme, the university’s Vice Chancellor stated that as a sole dispenser of Open and Distance Learning (ODL) mode in the country, it would continue to unfold programmes and incentives aimed at providing quality education to average Nigerians, adding that its packages towards taking education to young girls, who for cultural reasons cannot access education are on the way.

Adamu also stated that as part of efforts to strengthen international collaborations, the ‘Diaspora NOUN’ would soon be inaugurated to enable Nigerians living and working in Anglophone countries to have access to education at their convenience and affordable rates citing Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone as some of the countries to consider for this unique initiative.

Earlier, the visiting Vice Chancellor described Nigeria and Turkey as countries with mutually beneficial potentials adding that as part of the Corporate Social Responsibility of his university, he visited the country in pursuit of partnership with credible institutions in Nigeria towards expanding relations to other universities, and ardently submitted that it has found a dependable partner in NOUN to accomplish the vision.