President Bola Tinubu has instructed the Ministry of Education to include graduates of the National Open University in the National Youth Service Corps scheme.
He also addressed the issue of NOUN Law graduates’ admission to Law School for equal opportunities during his speech at the 13th convocation ceremony of NOUN on Saturday in Abuja.
Previously, in 2017, the former vice chancellor of NOUN, Abdallah Adamu, had assured NOUN graduates that they would soon be able to participate in the NYSC and the Law School.
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 filed by Law graduates of NOUN who were seeking admission to the Nigerian Law School.
On May 12, 2015, certain graduates of NOUN’s Law Department initiated legal proceedings against the Council of Legal Education, the National University Commission, the Attorney General of the Federation, and NOUN due to their refusal to admit them into the Law School.
Their lawsuit aimed to compel the relevant authorities to include NOUN graduates in the Nigerian Law School, thereby granting them the same opportunities as graduates from other institutions.
However, Tinubu issued a new directive through the Deputy Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Biodun Saliu, who represented him at the convocation ceremony on Saturday. Tinubu emphasized that the opportunity falls 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.”
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