According to the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), Oyo State Command, no fewer than 21 inmates from the Oyo Custodial Centre in Agodi, Ibadan, will take part in the 2021 National Examination Council (NECO).
DSC Anjorin Olanrewaju, the command’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), confirmed this in a statement issued on Tuesday in Ibadan.
Olanrewaju stated that the participating students, whose first subject in the 2021 NECO would be Agricultural Practical, were already in exam mode.
According to Olanrewaju, Ailewon Noel, the Controller of Corrections in Oyo State, encouraged the 21 students to study hard, avoid panicking during the examination period, and wished them the best of luck in their papers.
Ailewon reassured the participants that they would succeed because they had been studying for the exam for some time.
The controller stated that imprisonment should never be used as an excuse to not improve and develop oneself, and that they could be whoever they wanted to be.
“For months, preparations have been underway to get the participants ready for the exams.”
“Various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) have been assisting the Nigerian Correctional Service by sending professional teachers to the Agodi Centre to prepare students for the examination.”
“One of the 21 participating inmates is a female who has registered to take Science classes with four other male inmates, while 14 students registered for art subjects.”
“The other two registered for Commercial subjects,” Ailewon explained.
He stated that some Awaiting Trial Inmates who were acquitted and took advantage of the opportunity to write and pass the exam in the three years since the exercise began have since gained admission into various universities in Nigeria.
The controller stated that efforts to register a National Open University (NOUN) center in the facility were nearing completion and would soon become a reality.
He stated that having a NOUN center at the correctional facility would allow successful inmates to continue their education at the university level.
“This is consistent with the mandate of the NCoS Act of 2019, which shifts from punitive treatment of offenders to corrective and world-class measures that will see them reintegrated into society,” he said.