By Emmanuel Afonne

The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) has introduced e-ticketing platform ahead of its 20th anniversary slated for March 25.

The Vice-Chancellor of NOUN, Prof. Olufemi Peters, said in Abuja that the platform was introduced to resolve challenges encoutered by students real-time.

“This helps us track the students’ challenges ,” he said.

Peters noted that the institution had achieved so much in ensuring that Nigerians irrespective of their tight schedule, obtain quality education.

He said that 28,740 students would be graduating on Saturday as part of activities for the anniversary.

“The university want to use the opportunity to showcase what it has achieved especially its exploits during the COVID-19 era.

“We have 21,339 undergraduates and 7,101 postgraduates students graduating.

“Among this number are 58 inmates out of which seven are postgraduate graduands.

“We have 14 centres in our prisons and we have been mandated to expand it.

“In all, we have 28,740 students graduating during our 12th convocation,” Peters said.

He disclosed that the graduating inmates were under scholarship adding that there were criteria to be among the beneficiaries.

Peters said the gesture was NOUN’s own way of discharging its corporate social responsibilty to help the inmates lead a normal life after leaving the correctional centres.

He added that the first female Vice-chancellor of University of South Africa (UNISA), Prof. Puleng LenkaBula, would be attending the convocation as the guest lecturer.

“Students of the five study centres in Abuja, first class and Masters students will come to the headquarters for the convocation, while others outside Abuja will join from the study centres in their various states.

“We have 141,000 active students and about 250,000, when you combine active and inactive students with 118 study centres nationwide