The management of Admiralty University of Nigeria (ADUN), located in Ibusa, Delta State has clarified why it decided to offer Miss Jessica Okonye, a junior secondary school student of Infant Jesus Academy, Asaba admission as an ‘audit’ student.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that ADUN made the clarification in a statement released by Makut Alfred Mashat, Public Relations Officer, Office of the Vice-Chancellor of ADUN, while confirming that the admission of Miss Okonye into the institution as audit student has been approved.
“Admiralty University of Nigeria (ADUN), Ibusa, Delta State, Nigeria is delighted to welcome Miss Jessica Okonye, an exceptionally talented Junior Secondary School Student of an institution in Delta State, to audit some courses along with ADUN undergraduate students.
“In a very unique and innovative move, the Management of the university decided to play a part in the life of this brilliant young lad who is so desirous to gear her destiny for greatness,” the statement reads in part.
TNG reports that Miss Okonye was spotted by Professor John Alizor, who trained, lived and worked in the United States of America for over 50 years before he retired and returned to his home in Delta State.
The statement added: “He searched around for an opportunity in many universities to find help for this exceptional Secondary School Student. He found none until he approached the Vice-Chancellor (VC) of ADUN, Professor Paul Omojo Omaji, who invited him, the girl and her parents for interaction.
“Together with the Senior Management of the University, the VC made it clear that in the Nigerian context, Miss Jessica was not eligible for formal admission into the university programmes. However, since the Management saw that Miss Okonye wanted higher intellectual challenges, they couldn’t turn her back empty-handed.
“So, the Management approved for her to audit (attend for free) any class/lecture in any of the programmes of her choice in the university at her own convenience and pace. The idea is to help her sustain her intellectual curiosity and energy while she goes through the rest of her Secondary School education or before she becomes eligible for university admission”.
TNG reports that in academia, ‘audit’ is an educational term for participating in a course of study for which no formal admission is required, no assessment of the performance of the student is made, no grades and no certificates are awarded. The individual merely receives teaching to satisfy his or her intellectual predisposition.
Meanwhile, the management of Infant Jesus Academy, Asaba has disclosed that Miss Okonye has decided to stay with the academy for a few more years, saying: “we are looking forward to preparing her for this amazing road ahead”.
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TNG reports that Okonye was in JSS 1 at the close of the last session, and entering into JSS 2 in the new academic session at Infant Jesus Academy, Asaba. If she finally gets admitted into ADUN for full-time study from JSS, she will be making history as the first Nigerian to be admitted into a Nigerian university from a junior secondary school class, and at the tender age of 12.