News from Rivers State University Centre for Open and Distance Learning

The Vice-Chancellor of Rivers State University, Professor Isaac Zeb-Obipi, has inaugurated the Governing Board of the Centre for Open and Distance Learning. He described open and distance learning as an indispensable pathway for meeting the growing demand for higher education in Nigeria, noting that physical facilities in conventional universities cannot accommodate the rising number of qualified applicants. The Vice-Chancellor charged the Board to provide strategic direction for the Centre. In his acceptance speech, the Chairman, Prof. Blessing N. R. Jaja, described the Centre as a major milestone and assured the University of the Board’s commitment. The Director of CODL, Prof. Boma I. Dambo, thanked University Management for its support and reported that the Centre’s policies had been approved and that staff were being trained as course writers, facilitators and e-tutors.

The Vice-Chancellor of Miva Open University, Prof. Tayo O. Arulogun, delivered a special online lecture to Principal Officers and Members of the Management Committee of Rivers State University on RSU Live. The lecture was titled “The Roles of Management and Stakeholders in the Successful Implementation of Open and Distance Learning at Rivers State University”. He stressed that successful ODL depends on leadership, policy, staff, technology, student support and quality assurance working together, and proposed a five-step roadmap for the University: planning, infrastructure, capacity building, pilot programmes and scale-up.

The Centre held its first staff training on Open and Distance Learning Course Content Development and Delivery from 20th to 22nd April 2026. The programme was declared open by the Vice-Chancellor and attended by 51 participants, including Principal Officers, CODL staff, lecturers of the Department of Business Education and e-tutors. Facilitators from Rivers State University, the University of Port Harcourt and the National Open University of Nigeria took participants through instructional design, the ODL course framework, accessibility, Open Educational Resources and copyright, and tools for live online teaching and student management.