Kaduna centre’s visit to Zaria
The advocacy campaign of the Kaduna Study Centre has continued to gather momentum with latest visits to pioneer secondary schools of Al-Hudahuda and Barewa Colleges in Zaria City, Kaduna State.
The director of the centre, Yusuf Abdullahi, who tagged the campaign “catch them young,” said the visits to the two famous colleges were meant to ensure more enrollment is recorded.
The team was first received by the Principal of the Al-hudahuda College, Mal. Musa Usman and some of the management staff, after which the visiting director of Kaduna Study Centre informed his guest that he is an alumni of the college.
Abdullahi said he was glad to start in Zaria. “So this deemed it necessary to campaign in my domain so as to salvage the teaming youths waiting for conventional universities for admission.”
The whole gamut of the campaign centred on the three driving forces of the university” affordability, accessibility and flexibility.
Group Photograph with the student at the end of the visit
The director explained that despite sharing some characteristics in the area of regulation, standard accreditation and certificate’s global acceptability, NOUN differs because it operates all through, with neither strike nor unionism.
He briefly narrated the historical evolution of the National Open University of Nigeria from 1983 to 2001 when it was resuscitated.
“Due to the low level of enrolment, and inadequate awareness about the existence of the university, several methods and channels of communication were deployed to reach out to potential students, amongst which is the campaign we are carrying now,” said Abdullahi.
Responding, principal of the college thanked the university for the great gesture, assuring that he would continue to encourage the staff and students of the college to enroll.
Usman urged his colleagues to raise questions in the areas that they may need more explanations and clarifications.
In another related development, the team proceeded to Barewa College also in Zaria City, which is one of the prominent pioneer secondary schools in Nigeria for the same activity.
The team’s leader wasted no time in intimating his host of the purpose of establishing NOUN, and the mission to provide access to university education in the country.
While disclosing that the conventional universities lack the absolute capacity to absorb Nigerians yearning for university education, Abdullahi retreated that NOUN is the only university with the capacity to admit a large volume of students.
On his part, the principal of the college, Mal. Ismaila Musa, stated that many are lacking the existing facts about the university even as he lamented that the northern part of the country has been left behind for long.
The principal, therefore, expressed appreciation for the visit, adding that “My child has been wanting for three years to secure admission. I will be so glad to bring her to NOUN.
“Three set of students are still waiting for admission due to ASUU strike and pandemic, So NOUN is a very good opportunity to move ahead.”
At the end of the interactive discussion, questions mostly relating to postgraduate programmes, science courses requirements and NYSC eligibility were entertained and duly addressed by the visiting team.
