Two hundred and fifty four inmates of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Ohogua, near Benin in Edo are to write the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination, slated for April next year.
The Coordinator of the camp, Mr Solomon Folorunsho, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Benin.
Folorunsho explained that no fewer than 267 inmates of the camp had been enrolled for the examination by the centre since the camp opened in 2015.
He said that the camp enrolled 33 inmates in 2016 and that 53 got enrolled in 2017.
“In 2018, we had 63 inmates enrolled and in 2019, the number of inmates enrolled were 118.
“But for 2020 JAMB, the number has more than doubled as 254 inmates are expected to be enrolled.”
Folorunsho said that of the 118 inmates who sat for JAMB in 2019, about 100 had secured admissions into various tertiary institutions across the country.
The cleric also disclosed that no fewer than 335 inmates would be taking the Senior West African Examinations Council (WAEC) examination in June next year.
He explained that the same number of candidates would be sitting for the National Examinations Council (NECO) and the National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB) examinations.
Folorunsho disclosed further that in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 the number of inmates who registered for the examination were 50, 61, 91 and 84, respectively, bringing the total number of inmates who registered for the examinations in the past four years to 286.
He said that for the four-year period, a total of 502 inmates were enrolled for NECO with a breakdown of 148, 62, 96 and 196, respectively.
“Similarly within the same period, a total of 425 inmates were enrolled for the NABTEB examination.
“The breakdown shows that 38 inmates registered in 2016, 144 registered in 2017, 95 registered in 2018 while 198 registered in 2019.
“But in 2020 we want to register 335 IDPs for the three exams so that at least if any of them doesn’t pass WAEC, perhaps they can pass either NECO or NABTEB exams.”
Folorunsho said further that 480 inmates were also expected to be enrolled for the June 2020 Junior WEAC examinations, noting that the number was inclusive of 40 students from the community who were students at the centre.
He added that the management of the camp had made education a priority for the inmates because it was the best that could be done to discourage the inmates from engaging in all forms of vices.
“Giving the inmates education is the best we can do for them and Nigeria, to take people out of illiteracy, thuggery, fanaticism and various forms of vices.
Meanwhile, NAN learnt that no fewer than 800 inmates at the IDP had been reunited with their families since the facility opened five years ago.
(NAN)
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