• Backs Open Learning Model

The newly installed Pro-Chancellor of Miva Open University, Dr. Tunji Olowolafe, has called for an overhaul of higher education delivery in Nigeria, saying quality education must be made accessible to all Nigerians irrespective of their location or economic circumstances.

Speaking at the university’s maiden convocation ceremony in Lagos, Olowolafe said open and distance learning had become an effective tool for expanding access to higher education while maintaining academic standards.

He argued that universities must evolve to meet the realities of modern learners, that many prospective students are constrained by work, family responsibilities and geographical barriers.

He said institutions should focus on designing flexible systems that allow students to learn without sacrificing quality, rather than expecting learners to conform to traditional academic models, adding that the philosophy behind open learning was consistent with efforts by past leaders such as Chief Obafemi Awolowo to broaden access to education through innovative approaches, including free education and educational broadcasting.

He dismissed the notion that open and distance learning offered an inferior educational experience, stressing that graduates of Miva Open University had been subjected to rigorous academic standards comparable to those obtainable in conventional universities.

He identified sustaining quality amid rising enrolment as one of the major challenges confronting higher education institutions globally, but commended the university for maintaining academic integrity while expanding access to students.

The education advocate also expressed optimism about ongoing reforms in Nigeria’s education sector, saying recent policy interventions and investments by the Federal Government could strengthen learning outcomes if sustained.

Addressing the graduating students, he urged them to embrace lifelong learning and use their knowledge and skills in service of national development.

He said Nigeria’s greatest challenge was not a shortage of resources but a deficit of disciplined, value-driven leadership capable of advancing the country’s development.

Olowolafe pledged to uphold the university’s commitment to combining accessibility with academic excellence as he assumes office as Pro-Chancellor, maintaining that higher education institutions should not have to choose between quality and openness.

He said: “Democratising education does not mean lowering standards. 

“It means refusing to allow the conditions of learning to become a barrier to the quality of learning. It means designing systems that meet students where they are, not systems that demand students rearrange their entire lives to fit a model built for a different era.

“Where the student cannot travel to the classroom, the classroom must learn to travel to the student.

“The graduates before me today did not receive a diluted education. They were held to rigorous standards. They were assessed, challenged and stretched.

“It is relatively straightforward to deliver excellent education to a small cohort. The difficult thing that separates a serious institution from a merely ambitious one is maintaining that same integrity as the numbers grow.

“What Nigeria lacks most is not resources. It is organised will. It is people with training, with values, and with the determination to point at something bigger than personal comfort.”

The maiden convocation ceremony marked a significant milestone for the university as it graduated its pioneer set of students.