The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman has identified quality assurance as a major impediment to the actualisation of Open Distance E-learning (ODL) in the country.
Mamman made this known at a three-day Stakeholders’ Roundtable for the Critique and Adoption of the Draft Stand-alone National Policy on Open Distance Learning (ODL) in Abuja on Tuesday.
The three-day roundtable was for stakeholders to deliberate on the draft policy and come up with a holistic approach to open distance learning, taking into cognizance its challenges.
Mamman said many Nigerians especially employers of labour do not have confidence in the quality of the programme, hence the need to change the perception.
“We want to assure them that ODL is as good as qualifications obtained in normal universities,” he said.
The Minister explained that part of the Federal government’s effort to expand access to quality education was the strengthening of open distance learning through the development of a National policy to ensure sustainability.
“What we are trying to do is to put together quality assurance and strengthen the policy.
“Once we give them the quality training in the various places they are going to be trained, employers will see the difference in practical terms,” he said.
Giving an overview of Open Distance E-learning from inception and it’s benefits, Professor Olugbemiro Jegede from the National Open University, said that it would bring education closer to the people leveraging on technology.
“The ODL is to take the distance out of the reach of the learners. You have that distance and it can be geographical, economy, social, political and physical.
“So what distance education is doing is taking that distance away so that the learners get close to whatever he/she wants to learn.
“The ODL takes away the barrier, obstacles, blockage and boundaries in education,” he said.
The Minister of State for Education, Dr Yusuf Sununu urged the stakeholders to bring their wealth of experience to bear in developing a policy that was comprehensive and meet global standards.
Sununu, represented by the Director of ICT in the ministry, Mr Isa Abubakar, said available statistics showed that the achievement of SDG 4 in 2030 would be a mirage if the ODL approach was not properly conceptualised in a long-term governmental strategy for improved access to education.
He, therefore, said the development of sustainable policy on ODL became critical to realign national strategies with emerging educational challenges.
