The African Students Education Support Initiative (ASESI) is to collaborate with the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) in order to improve quality service, ASESI’s Executive Director, Chinonso Obasi, has said.
Obasi in a statement on Monday in Abuja, said that he recently led the delegation of Nigerian Student Leaders to NOUN’ Headquarter, Abuja.
Obasi said that the visit, which was necessitated by the recent assent granted by President Muhammadu Buhari on the NOUN Amendment Bill, was also meant to strategise on fast implementation and to address other related matters in the institution.
He applauded the management of NOUN on areas they were performing well and equally pointed out areas that needed attention.
“There are extortion and obnoxious charges going on in the institution; such as like the 20,000 naira charged to remark Pen on Papers(POP).
“You have done well in maintaining smooth academic curriculum, improved computer operations in the University, Law graduates can now go to Law school and NOUN graduates can equally go to NYSC; these achievements is worthy of commendations.
“We want these transformational strides to have zero tolerance to corruption and other elicit acts in the University,’’ he said.
Obasi said that issue of NOUN lecturers joining ASUU was also discussed.
The ASESI boss said that Prof .Abdalla Abu Adamu, NOUN’s Vice Chancellor, thanked ASESI, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Federation, Minister of Education, National Universities Commission (NUC) the media, CSOs and President Mohammed Buhari for all the supports so far in effort to transforming NOUN.
He said that the vice chancellor expressed immense joy and appreciation to President Buhari and all who worked to see the NOUN Amendment Bill through.
“One of the greatest achievements of Buhari is the assent granted to the NOUN Amendment Bill which automatically clears fears in the eyes of NOUN graduates.
“We shall continue to partner with ASESI in bringing effective development to NOUN as record has shown that ASESI has supported NOUN progressively and still willing to assist.
“Those who claim that they are overcharged 20,000naira for remarking papers must understand that it is the cost of mailing their scripts to locations where they are to be remarked and equally the cost of sending it back to the University aftermath.
“Theses papers are marked in farer distances so the cost must not be on the university rather on the Student who has called for a remark of his POP.
“We have 515,000 enrolled students and about 180,000 registered students, this really makes things difficult.
“The enrolled students meet the entire prerequisite yet become absent in almost all academic activities only reappears during exams, it makes things difficult. The registered ones are those who comply with all the rules and also set for the examination,’’ Obasi quoted the vice chancellor as saying.
Obasi said that the vice chancellor promised that when the Act was gazetted and it permitted unionism, he would allow a level playing ground for all including the Student’s Union activities and ASUU as he himself was a registered member of ASUU.
The ASESI executive Officer was accompanied on the visit by National President of the National Association of Polytechnic Students (NAPS) Comrade Mohammed Eneji, National Chairman, Council of NANS zonal Coordinators, Umar Faruk among other National Association of Nigerians Students(NA NS) officials.
