Says learning has left classroom
The Vice Chancellor, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Prof Bamitale Omole has described e-learning as the future of education, stressing that learning has left the traditional four walls of the university.
He made the assertion recently in Lagos during the launch of the university’s e-learning platform by the institution’s Centre for Distance Learning (CDL).
The platform, according to Prof Omole, would give the teeming Nigerian youths, as well as working class people, the opportunity to acquire university education, which has eluded many of them for so long due to space constraints in the universities.
He said the beauty of the programme lies on the fact that what applies to the regular on-campus students is exactly what is applicable to the on-line students. He said the e-learning programme is designed in such a way that lectures are delivered by the same lecturers teaching the on-campus students, using the same lecture materials.
“With e-learning, you can be in your room, home, car or anywhere to get education. Also an e-community of lecturers, tutors and students ensure that a higher level of interaction is achieved since members are always within reach 24 hours everyday. Assignments are also submitted online, while practical sessions and examinations are taken on campus. Successful students are awarded the same certificate as the on-campus students,” he said.
The e-learning platform with its attendant benefits was made possible by the university’s partnership with a private education technology company, EduTech Software Solutions, which designed and developed an indigenous and comprehensive e-learning solution. This solution is projected to increase the student base of the university and give more than 50,000 people the opportunity to receive certified undergraduate and post-graduate degrees from the university annually.
Explaining how the partnership works, the Vice Chancellor said this e-learning solution has a learning management system called Vigilearn, which allows students to receive lectures, submit assignments, relate with peers, participate in group discussions and get graded without being physically present within the four walls of a lecture room.
“Vigilearn is combined with a tablet device called Vigitab, built specifically for Nigeria. Vigitab has a long battery power and allows users to study and receive lectures with limited internet connection,” he further explained.
He stated that every on-line student gets an electronic tablet device, which has been uploaded with lectures as soon as such student completes his or her registration. He also explained that with the lecture notes already uploaded into the tablet, there won’t be any problem of internet access because what the student needs to do is to switch on the tablet and begin to listen to the lecturer as he lectures. “You don’t need the internet to study because the lecture materials have been uploaded into the tablet, which will be given to each student on completion of registration. And the tablet battery has about nine hours to serve before they go off; so it was designed in such a way that nobody would complain of lack of electricity to power it. It is our belief that since you can recharge your cell phones when their batteries are down, you can equally find a way of recharging the tablets when their batteries are down after a long time of nine hours. When you open your tablet and click on any course you want to study anytime, you will see the lecturer teaching and demonstrating just as if you were physically present on the campus,” he said.
When our reporter pressed further to find out the cost of the programme, the Vice Chancellor didn’t give a specific answer but assured that it was affordable especially for working class people.
“The cost is affordable. I will not know the price off heart here. We are on-line; go to our website because when you talk about the price, there are so many things involved. What I can assure you is that for any working class, whatever that is on our website is affordable,” he said.
Also speaking at the event, the Director of the Centre for Distance Learning, Prof Olabode Asubiojo, painted a graphic picture of the frustration suffered by millions of youths annually, who are yearning for university education but could not gain admission because of limited spaces in the universities.
He stated that the university’s decision to establish the Centre for Distance Learning, with the introduction of e-learning was to address admission problems and also to provide quality graduates that can compete with their peers anywhere in the world.
He said: “Out of about 160 million Nigerians, about 1.5 million people apply for university admission every year but only about 20 percent of this number gets admitted, leaving the remaining 80 percent frustrated.
To bridge this gap, the federal government came up with the Open University education in Nigeria. In line with the federal government policy on distance learning mode of education, the National Universities Commission (NUC) also gave the nod to operate distance learning programme to about six universities in Nigeria in which OAU is one of them. So, e-learning is the way to the future and that is why the federal government is encouraging it.”
He corroborated the Vice Chancellor’s position that only four courses were available for now but promised that more courses, both at the graduate and undergraduates levels, were underway.
“After months of painstaking brainstorming work, the university decided to start off the programme with four undergraduate courses to ensure that quality is not compromised. The four courses include: Accounting, Nursing, Economics and Social Studies. Other courses both at the undergraduate and post graduate levels will soon follow,” he assured.
One of the ways of ensuring that quality is not compromised, apart from receiving the same lectures from the same lecturer, who also sets the same exam questions, according to Asubiojo, is in the admission procedures.
He explained further, saying, “Even when Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) pass mark is 180, a lot of students score above 200 in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) but cannot gain admission because of space constraints and infrastructure deficit in the university system. This is what we are trying to address and it is not only for young people but also for the working class people. So, to maintain quality, a part one on-line student must have sat for UTME and scored a minimum of 180, which is JAMB pass mark before we can admit him or her. Except for those who may come in through the direct entry admission process to part two or three, fresh on-line students must pass through JAMB just like the regular, on-campus students.”
He also dismissed fears of possible discrimination on the degree to be awarded after the programme. He said: “The degree that would be awarded to the distance learning students at the end of the programme would just be the same as those awarded to the regular students of the university. The degree is a degree of OAU; there is nothing like distance learning on it. If you want to read Bachelors degree in Accounting, the entry requirement is the same for both regular and distance learning students. For part one students, JAMB requires the basic minimum of 180 as pass mark. The same thing applies to distance learning students in part one. They must have taken UTME and scored up to 180 before they can be admitted, except those coming in as direct entry students in part two or three.”
On whether graduates of this programme would be mobilized for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme, he said: “The issue of NYSC is going to be determined by the NUC and JAMB. I wouldn’t want to speak for them but I want to ask whether in taking a degree, your goal is NYSC or to have an education and be able to work. I will like to say that if the federal government comes out to say those who have gone through distance education can be exempted from the NYSC, then there is no problem but I don’t know about that. But if NUC says you are not exempted, it simply means that after the programme, you will be mobilized for the NYSC programme.”

E-learning is the way to future – OAU VC