Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru of Ebonyi State has pledged sustained support for initiatives aimed at expanding access to quality education, assuring the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) of the state government’s readiness to deepen its partnership with the institution.
Nwifuru gave the assurance on Friday when he received the Vice Chancellor of NOUN, Prof. Uduma Oji Uduma, and members of the university’s management team at the Government House, Abakaliki.
The governor said education remained a central pillar of his administration’s People’s Charter of Needs Agenda, stressing that his government would continue to support both government and private initiatives capable of advancing educational development in the state.
“We are willing to support, partner with you to advance knowledge in our dear state,” Nwifuru said.
He disclosed that the state government had approved the relocation of the university’s study centre to a bigger and more conducive facility to improve the learning environment and enhance research and community service.
“We will give you all the needed support. We are relocating your Study Centre to a bigger and conducive space to enhance learning and drive research and community service,” the governor said.
Nwifuru, while highlighting some of his administration’s interventions in the education sector over the past three years, said his government was committed to equipping young Ebonyians with the knowledge, exposure and skills required to compete effectively in the global economy.
According to him, more than 700 Ebonyians have been sponsored to pursue postgraduate studies in various European institutions as part of efforts to expose the state’s young professionals and scholars to global opportunities and standards.
“We have sent over 700 Ebonyians to pursue postgraduate degrees in Europe. We did this because we want them exposed to the world,” he said.
The governor also called for an end to discrimination against graduates of NOUN by graduates and authorities of conventional universities, arguing that open and distance learning students possess the intellectual capacity to compete favourably with their counterparts from traditional institutions.
Nwifuru said his interactions with students of the university had convinced him that NOUN had produced professionals capable of making meaningful contributions to society.
“I have had an intellectual encounter with many students of the university. I found out that many of them have what it takes to compete favourably with their counterparts from the regular universities,” he said.
He added: “The professionals in this university are not less in quality with their counterparts. If they are not, it means their students are not also inferior.”
Nwifuru also commended the Governing Council of NOUN for appointing Prof. Uduma, an Ebonyi-born Professor of Logic, as Vice Chancellor of the institution.
Describing the vice chancellor as a renowned educationist with strong intellectual capacity, the governor expressed confidence that his leadership would contribute to the advancement of the university.
“We know what he will do in the National Open University. We are happy that Professor Uduma has what it takes to take the university to an enviable height where everyone will be very proud of,” Nwifuru said.
Earlier, Prof. Uduma said the delegation’s visit was aimed at establishing a stronger working relationship with the Ebonyi State Government and exploring areas of collaboration in tertiary education.
The vice chancellor commended the governor’s investment in education, particularly the award of scholarships and the development of specialised universities in the state.
“I have seen your award of scholarship to various students and how you are building specialised universities,” Uduma said.
He said NOUN had grown into a major institution providing opportunities for people who might otherwise be excluded from conventional university education because of geographical, economic or other barriers.
According to him, the university has more than 190,000 students and 128 study centres and campuses, making it one of the largest open and distance learning institutions in sub-Saharan Africa.
“The primary aim of the National Open University is to make education accessible to everyone by removing all forms of barriers,” Uduma said.
The vice chancellor, however, noted that the South-East had comparatively fewer NOUN study centres, adding that Ebonyi was the last state in the region to have a study centre.
He said the university was prepared to partner the Ebonyi State Government in providing training in Open and Distance Learning (ODL), while also offering collaboration opportunities to existing universities in the state.
“We want to partner Ebonyi State to offer training in Open and Distance Learning, ODL, and we are also open to partner the universities here to go dual mode,” Uduma said.
He explained that the dual-mode system would allow students to combine physical classroom engagement with technology-enabled virtual learning.
The proposed collaboration, he said, would further widen access to tertiary education and strengthen the capacity of institutions in the state to deploy technology in teaching, learning and research.
