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The Nigerian
Universities Commission and the British Council are partnering to boost
Open and Distance Learning education in the country.

This involves
training a select number of instructors from six Nigerian Universities
who will in turn build capacity of their ODL teachers in their
institutions.

Suleiman
Rahmon-Yusuf, Deputy Director, Open and Distance Learning at the
Nigerian Universities Commission said training the ODL instructors is a
project that the commission feel is so important to Nigeria from the
point of view of our perennial problem of inadequate access to
university education.

“This project is
aimed basically at bringing the status of distance learning in Nigeria
up to the standard of best practice,” he said.

“So this ODL
programme aims at building capacities for individual and institutions.
The teacher needs to have the skill which is required in using ICT and
new media. It is a series of capacity building workshop to train
academic staff of participating universities.” The selected
institutions are Universities of Ibadan, Lagos , Abuja, Ife, Maiduguri
and University of Nigeria Nsukka.

Mr Rahmon-Yusu who
spoke yesterday in Abuja during the 3rd train the trainer workshop for
ODL instructors in Abuja added that they have selected a group of
people called national trainers which we trained over the years and
there is evidence that people acquired requisite skills to be able to
deliver distant learning materials using modern media.

Amir Ramzam, Deputy
Country Director of the British Council said they are investing the sum
of 200,000 USD on the project. “We are supporting this initiative as a
way of increasing access to higher education among Nigerian youth,” he
said.

Steve Swethenby,
Director of Open University of the United Kingdom said millions of
students can benefit ODL but called for the rebuilding of higher
education sector in Nigeria.

“Few years from now
there will half a million students studying by this method. I am
encouraged by the quality I see. Very good academic ideas to provide
not a second best but super flexible education.” He equally wants
Nigeria to make good use of mobile phones in learning. This is known as
m-education.

“It is interesting for Nigeria for to take a lead in the educational
exploitation of mobile phones.” Mr Rahmon-Yusuf further said that
Nigeria cannot do without this weapon of mass instruction considering
that Nigeria has a higher education participation rate of only 8.1 per
cent this means that only eight out of one hundred Nigerians between
the ages of 18 and 35 are in higher education. “This is poor. It
involves extending education to hard to reach areas,” he said.