OAU’s distance learning centre matriculates pioneer students

A statement from the centre indicated that the event was held at the Oduduwa Hall of the OAU Main Campus. The programme is accredited by the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC) and allows students to receive their lectures online using a customised study tablet (Vigitab).  The Vice Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University, Professor Bamitale Omole, told […]

A statement from the centre indicated that the event was held at the Oduduwa Hall of the OAU Main Campus.
The programme is accredited by the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC) and allows students to receive their lectures online using a customised study tablet (Vigitab).  
The Vice Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University, Professor Bamitale Omole, told the matriculating students that: “You have the singular honour of being the first set of students in our eLearning programme, the first of its type in Nigeria.
“Your distant learning mode of admission does not in any way imply inferiority in status, compared to our conventional students, either in terms of lecture delivery or the certificates you will receive. Our university guards jealously the integrity of its degrees and diplomas whether obtained in the conventional or distance learning mode. Hence your various curricula have gone through the usual high standards of excellence of the University Senate for which Obafemi Awolowo University is well known.”
The Centre for Distance Learning Director, Professor Bode Asubiojo, said: “This development is the first of its kind in Nigeria and we are pleased with it. We have replicated the classroom experience on a tablet device for students. Students can receive lectures, submit assignments, participate in forums, take quizzes, and even rewind their lecturers, all from the comfort of their homes, offices or wherever they may be in Nigeria or abroad.”
The eLearning solution is powered by a Learning Management System (VigiLearn) that allows students to receive lectures, submit assignments, relate with peers, participate in group discussions and get graded without being physically within the four walls of a lecture room.
“Our primary charge at the centre is to provide quality education to the teeming Nigerian youths who possess the prerequisite qualifications for entry to Nigerian universities but are denied admission owing to inadequate facilities on campus and the working class who are desirous of pursuing undergraduate and post graduate programmes whilst still retaining their jobs,” Professor Asubiojo said.
Courses on offer for the Online Distance Learning Programme are B.Sc. Accounting and Bachelor of Nursing Science. The Centre plans to include more courses in the future.