President Muhammadu Buhari says his prompt signature on the amended law of the National Open University of Nigeria’s (NOUN) has resolved the long-term non-recognition of its graduates in the country.
He stated this on Saturday during the university’s combined 9th and 10th Convocation Ceremony, which was held virtually.
A statement by NOUN’s Director, Media and Publicity, Ibrahim Sheme said the president was represented via a virtual connection by the National Universities Commission (NUC) Deputy Executive Secretary, Ramon Yusuf.
He said “NOUN is delivering on its mandate by taking education to the doorstep of Nigerians.”
Buhari, who is the university visitor, said his administration has placed a great premium on education, especially in ensuring a lifelong learning via the Open and Distance Learning (ODL) mode.
While saluting the efforts of the university’s management in continuing to expand access to higher education, the president acknowledged that NOUN has remained the only single-mode ODL institution in Nigeria.
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Abdalla Uba Adamu, said the combined ceremony has seen the graduation of a total of 32,725 students from various courses of study in undergraduate and postgraduate studies.
Adamu, who is rounding off his five-year tenure on February 10, 2021, said a total of 24,300 graduands were drawn from the year 2020, the convocation ceremony of which was shelved due to the enforced lockdown necessitated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said the year 2021 has a total of 8,425 graduands, making it a cumulative 80,418 students who graduated within his five-year stint at the university.
The Vice-Chancellor added, “It became necessary to hold a combined convocation due to inability to hold the 9th convocation in March 2020 due to Covid-19 pandemic.
The Chancellor of the university, Amb. Lawrence Agubuzu, thanked the federal government for its support to the university.
The chairman, Governing Council, Prof. Peter Okebukola, said the combined convocation conducted virtually was unique in many ways, as it will set standard for other universities in Nigeria.
