A delegation from the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), led by the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council, Senator Ameh Ebute, on Tuesday, 9 August, 2016, visited the Executive Secretary, NUC Professor Abubakar Adamu Rasheed, mni, MFR, to congratulate him on his appointment. The delegation also siezed the opportunity to present some challenges facing the University for the Commission's urgent attention. 

 

Our correspondent at Nursingworld Nigeria notes that the delegation Listed four major challenges facing NOUN ODL viz a viz the issue of NOUN and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme for its graduates, Council for Legal Education ( C L E ) and NOUN Law graduates, NOUN graduates and Advanced Degrees in other universities as well as NOUN's Nursing Sciences and practical experiences. 

 

According to him, it was ironic for a University that was nationalistic in its outlook and programmes to be excluded from participation in the NYSC scheme. He stated that the desire of its graduates is to participate, fully, in the scheme and contribute their quota to the development of the nation. He therefore solicited the intervention of the NUC for the NYSC to accept its students to take part in the scheme.

 

Professor Uba Adamu reiterated that NOUN is an Open and Distance learning (ODL) and not a part time or correspondence institution. NOUN he further explained is only one of the large network of institutions all over the world providing accessible, affordable and equitable education to millions of people, who, due to their peculair circumstances, work and learn at the same time.

 

Dwelling on NOUN graduates and further education in other universities, the Vice Chancellor expressed dismay that they were denied placments for postgraduate studies at Master's and Doctoral levels, when most of the Instructors of these students were drawn from to the same Nigerian University System (NUS). He argued that the students are offered postgraduate admissions in prestigious universities abroad where they excel and wondered the basis for the discrimination in their own country. He urged NUC to prevail on Nigerian universities to desist from such practices against its graduates.

 

On NOUN's Nursing Science students, Professor Uba Adamu explained that the challenge of ODL lies in clinical/practical courses requiring real-time skills acquisitions and competencies in specific learning domains. This, according to him, posed a challenge for Nursing that required extensive laboratory experiences. Recognising this fact, NOUN, he said, was striving hard to ensure that students acquire the practical experiences through regional laboratories and signing of Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with existing Teaching Hospitals and Universities. He, therefore, sought NUC's support to facilitate the use of University and hospital laboratories around its Centres, on MoU basis, for the training of its Science and other Clinical-based students.

 

Responding, the Executive Secretary noted that NOUN was fortunate to have a strong leadership and Governing Council headed by a Statesman and former Senate President, Senator Ebute. He remarked that the visit was the first by an entire management team of a University since his appointment and expressed gratitude to them for the solidarity.

 

 

He stated that his last place of assignment was NOUN, which he joined in November, 2015, on Sabbatical. He was, therefore, conversant with the issues raised by the Institution. On the NYSC scheme, Professor Rasheed argued that, while many of NOUN graduates may not qualify for the scheme, on account of age, “even if only one of them is below the age of 30”, it would be fair that the person is not denied the opportunity to participate in the scheme. He promised that NUC Management would discuss the matter with the NYSC and get back to the University. The Executive Secretary agreed that, in the current digital age, people should come to terms with the fact that ODL held the future of tertiary education. He observed that IT revolution had changed the world and Nigerians must embrace this revolution in tertiary education delivery.

 

The Executive secretary expressed surprise at the discrimination against NOUN graduates by other universities across the country, saying they were eminently qualified to be admitted for post graduate studies, once they could fit in. He, therefore, promised to take the matter up with the Committee of Vice chancellors. Wh i l e

admitting that NOUN's request for its Nursing students may be a harder nut to crack since many universities were already contending with the problem of accommodating their own students, Professor Rasheed promised to discuss the use of