Student perspectives on open and distance learning in universities in South-west, Nigeria

Abstract

The problem of access to higher education is not new to Nigeria. Over the years, scholars have researched into possibilities of providing education but some African scholars suggested mass education. The arrival of globalization and Information Communication Technology (ICT) has facilitated what is now known as distance education. The Open Distance Learning (ODL) keeps lecturer and student in contact through technology. This study investigated the effectiveness of the system through student perceptions. The study adopted the survey research design with its respondent population drawn from four universities in South-West, Nigeria namely; University of Ibadan (Ul) with 100 respondents, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) with 100 respondents, University of Lagos (UNILAG) with 100 respondents. The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) had 150 respondents. All respondents were purposively selected. A researcher-designed instrument entitled 'Perspectives in Open Distance Learning in Universities in South-West, Nigeria Questionnaire' [PODLUSWNQ) with four sections was adopted. The instrument was subjected to face and content validity by colleagues in the Faculty of Education, University of Ibadan. Two research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. A trial test of the instrument yielded 'r'-0.75. The study found a significant difference in ICT availability among universities [F (3, 479) = 6.382, p <.05j. The level of ICT availability among students in Obafemi Awolowo University (M = 15.8974, sd = 3.41998) was lower than that of students in NOUN (M = 17.8416, sd = 4.29356) and University of Lagos (M =18.0187, sd = 3.88024). ICT availability from OAU was not significantly different from those in Ul (M = 16.9430, sd = 4.50088) while Ul is not significantly different from others. It was revealed that the use of radio and television were average hence recommendations centered on the development of radio and television dissemination of information with adequate funding.