President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday said that Federal Government would empower the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) to train the youth on Information Communication Technology (ICT).
Jonathan said this at the opening ceremony of a five-day conference on the 7th Pan-Commonwealth Forum (PCF7) in Abuja.
The forum has “Open Learning for Development: Towards Empowerment and Transformation’’ as its theme.
The president, who was represented by the Supervising Minister of Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, said that the training would be part of his administration’s efforts to empower the youth.
“This special programme will be organised in collaboration with the SURE-P (Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme) and the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“The Federal Government is also working out modalities for collaborations between NOUN and different agencies of government on empowering the young people,” he said.
Jonathan, who noted that open and distance learning was an innovation in this part of the world, said that he was aware of the challenges and needs of the National Open University.
He said that the government recognised the relevance and scope of open and distance learning in the country.
He said that given the challenges facing conventional universities, NOUN would be empowered to broaden the citizens’ access to university education.
Jonathan commended the organisers of the forum for choosing Nigeria as its venue.
“This, of course, indicates that our efforts towards transforming and restructuring our education sector are also appreciated by those within and outside our country
“Due to the importance which Nigeria places on the `Education for All’ initiative, I can assure you that Nigeria will continue to be a strong supporter of open and distance education,’’ he added.
Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor of NOUN, Prof. Vincent Tenebe, said that Nigeria secured the right to host the event right after a stiff competition from some countries.
He said that the forum would create an avenue for Nigeria and other member-countries to appreciate the potential of open and distance learning.
Prof. Asha Kanwar, the President of the Commonwealth of Learning, said that the forum was particularly aimed at increasing the people’s access to quality learning in Nigeria. (NAN)
