The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) on Friday said it was committed to sustaining its robust Open and Distance Learning (ODL) programmes across the country.
The Head, Information and Media of the institution, Dr Ronke Ogunmakin, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that NOUN placed emphasis on accessibility and effectiveness.
According to her, the university authorities have put a lot of resources in place to ensure that ODL is replicated across the country.
She said that the institution’s authorities had established well equipped centres in almost all the 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria.
“I want to state that the institution has come a long way in ensuring that we achieve a robust ODL across the country, to eradicate mass illiteracy among Nigerians.
“We are not saying that it is Uhuru yet, because just like every other institution, we have our challenges which we pray to overcome soon.
“Before now, we had our teething problems, but I can assure you that majority of these issues have been adequately taken care of,” Ogunmakin said.
She said that the university had also entered into partnership with international bodies such as UNESCO, the Commonwealth of Learning and many others.
According to her, most of the institution’s facilitators and staff are usually trained and re-trained, through conferences and workshops.
She, however, urged the institution’s stakeholders, especially the students, to always feel free to discuss issues that border on their learning with the authorities.
Ogunmakin said that the NOUN authorities had showed enough transparency in its operations and, therefore, would expect the students to seek clarification concerning their various careers, when in doubt.
“We are an institution that is borderless and it is practically difficult to gather all our students at the same time.
“What we are saying in effect is for the students to be focused and informed about what we do here.
“So, whenever they have issues or challenges, they know how to go about it.
“The institution is constantly putting in place innovations that would enhance e-learning, teaching and research.
“Our facilitators are well-equipped in line with modern trends and best practices.
“And we do our best to ensure that they all do what is expected of them at any given point in time, for the benefit of the students,” she said.