Today, the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) announced their decision to join the OERu network and claims the accolade of becoming the first West African university to join this international innovation partnership.  

NOUN is Nigeria's largest university with over 180,000 students and is the leading provider of open and distance learning in the West African subregion. 

"NOUN was the first open distance learning university in the West African subregion" said Professor Vincent Tenebe,  NOUN Vice Chancellor. "It is fitting and appropriate that NOUN should lead the way in becoming the first OERu partner from this part of the world." 

Working in close collaboration with the UNESCO OER Programme, NOUN has commenced work in converting existing courses into OER. "NOUN is eager to explore the potential of open educational resources in order to further propel its vision of providing highly accessible and enhanced quality education anchored by social justice, equity and equality for all who seek knowledge" said Dr Jane-Frances Agbu, Head of NOUN's OER Unit.

"At the OERu we envision a world where all learners have affordable access to higher education"  said Dr Wayne Mackintosh, UNESCO/COL/ICDE Chair in OER. "We will only achieve this vision by working together with partners who have wide and authentic experience in serving the learners we are aiming to help with our philanthropic endeavour." 

Building capacity of the OERu network to serve Sub-Saharan Africa will now be strengthened with Africa's leading open and distance learning institutions joining the family. The strength of the OERu lies in our diversity and commitment to leverage the potential of open education for all citizens of the world. 

Photo credit 

Abel Caine, UNESCO,  CC-BY-SA