13 Inmates Bag Degree Certificates from NOUN
13 inmates of the old Abeokuta facility of the Nigeria Correctional Service have graduated from the National Open University of Nigeria, NOUN, through a special study center established within the facility.
At the graduation ceremony, the Director, Abeokuta study center of NOUN, Dr Kunle Adegboyega maintained that the degrees awarded to the inmates was a testament to their moral transformation.
He emphasized that such certificates could be revoked, if graduates engaged in misconduct after their release
Mr Adegboyega also appealed to Nigerians to avoid judging the graduates based on their past, but to encourage them and appreciate their reformation efforts.
In a message to the ceremony, the State Coordinator of the National Examinations Council, NECO, Mrs Olubukola Alo congratulated the new degree holders and encouraged them to make meaningful contributions to the society after their re- integration.
Earlier, the Ogun State Comptroller of Correctional Service, Mr Ayodeji Adepoju described education as a transformative tool in correctional facilities, noting that learning had helped in positively shaping the inmates’ reasoning and behavior.
He solicited more support from stakeholders, especially the Ogun State government and the private sector, adding that the federal government alone could not provide the needed assistance to sustain correctional programmes.
Sponsored by a Non Governmental organisation, “Let us Pray Foundation” and other partners, the 13 graduates were enrolled in 2017, while 250 others wrote the NECO exams in 2018 through the interventions since and 17 inmates were set to graduate from a Quranic school.
