From Judex Okoro, Calabar
The Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar, Prof Florence Banku Obi, has stated that the institution has the manpower and expertise to run Open Distance Learning pogramme (ODL).
Speaking when she received a team from the Nigeria Universities Commission (NUC) who were in the University on a Pre-Validation Exercise for the ICT enabled Open and Distant Learning Programme, Obi maintained that they are ready to commence the programme.
The pre-validation visit is aimed at ascertaining the institution’s level of preparedness for the programme.
According to her, “the University of Calabar has a long history of Distance Learning. Many years back, the University ran more than 20 programmes across the country until when the NUC stopped such programmes in all the Universities.
“So, we are quite sure everything is ready. Be it the manpower or expertise to run the Programme.
“The University is endowed with competent human capacity to handle any Programme up to Ph.D level.”
In an earlier remark, the leader of the team and Director in the NUC, Dr Kayode Odedina, said their visit was to ascertain the level of the institution preparedness to run an Open Distance Learning Center.
Dr. Odedina said NUC demands a minimum benchmark in terms of human and material resources for such a Centre to get approval.
He noted that the future of education and other spheres of life is ICT enabled, adding that for any institution desirous of running a distance learning programme, the staff deployed to the Centres must have ICT capacity.
“We are here to see your resources, human and material resources . Anyone expecting to work in the Centre must be ICT/ODL validated. This involves both academic and non teaching staff.
“The NUC approved ODL though ICT-enabled is not 100 percent online. The ODL programme still expects a face-to-face interaction of at least two weeks in a semester.”
According to him, Distance Learning started in 1848 and the University of London was the first institution to operate distance learning in Nigeria.