Tertiary education: Governor urges all to embrace digital learning; approves site for Aba NOUN study centre

By Editor, Umuahia

Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, OFR, has called on Nigerians to embrace digital and distance education as the way to go in the contemporary time.

Governor Otti was speaking, while receiving in audience a delegation of the management of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) led by Professor Uduma Orji Uduma in his office.

Governor. Otti recounted that it was the NOUN that pioneered virtual learning in Nigeria.

“It is interesting that National Open University of Nigeria pioneered an effort decades ago when the world had not gone virtual. But today, I sit here and hold meetings with people in New York and Singapore.

“That is what learning has become. Distance, Open, Virtual, Zoom, Google meet and all the platforms for distance learning and virtual meetings have become the order of the day.

“So, we have no choice but to embrace it,” Gov. Otti stated. Governor Otti approved the citing of the Aba Study Centre of the NOUN, and directed the Commissioner for Tertiary Education to do a feasibility study on how to fix and upgrade the Umuahia study centre.

This was in response to the requests made by the Vice Chancellor of the institution.

“On your request to support in upgrading the place (Umuahia centre), I would like the Honourable Commissioner for Tertiary Education to take that up together with other members of the team.

“Let’s have a look and see how we can support them to upgrade the place.”On the request for a study centre in Aba, I think that one is a no-brainer. It has to be done.”So, the General Manager of the Greater Aba Development Authority (GADA), please take that up and let’s find a place for them.

“Maybe we need to find a place that they will operate from on a temporary basis. Because before you start and finish building, it will probably take a long time.”So, you can start from a temporary place. We will now be thinking of a permanent site, which will be a fairly long-term project,” Gov. Otti said.

The State Chief Executive, who thanked them for the good job that they were doing at National Open University of Nigeria and for establishing a study centre in Asaga Ohafia as well as the one in the State capital, congratulated the Vice Chancellor on his position.

The Governor noted that his government pays a lot of attention to education, saying that, in the last three years, he had committed 20% of the annual budget to education, disclosing that, soon, he would be commissioning three smart schools within the month.

Earlier, the Leader of the delegation and Vice Chancellor of NOUN, Professor Uduma Orji Uduma said that the visit was to solicit for partnership with the Governor for the establishment of a study centre in Aba, describing Open and distant learning as the way to go in the 21st Century.

While noting that the University has 120 Study Centres across Nigeria with only 8 in the South East region, Professor Uduma appealed to the State government to partner with the University to secure land for the establishment of a study centre in Aba to enable more Abia people enjoy the gains of open and distant learning, in addition to fixing and upgrading the existing Umuahia study centre.

He appreciated the transformation projects of Governor Alex Otti in the State and maintained that the people across the country are happy about his people oriented development strides.