President Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday said his administration was determined to continue to deploy resources toward ensuring the realisation of his transformation agenda through mass education.
Jonathan made the assertion at the 4th Convocation ceremony of the National Open University of Nigeria in Lagos.
He was represented by Prof. Julius Okojie, the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission.
The event was for the award of certificates for first and higher degrees in various disciplines and prizes.
“My administration will continue to work toward building a country with well educated populace that will be able to take the nation to its desired position among the comity of nations,” he said.
Jonathan said the achievements of NOUN, both locally and internationally, underscores the determination of this administration to give massive and qualitative education to every citizen.
He said that this would be achieved by taking it to their door steps through the Open and Distance mode.
He said: “Government will continue to extend its support to NOUN to enhance its sustainability and accessibility.
“We must realise that if we all should embrace education, most of the challenges facing the country today will be reduced to the barest minimum if not totally eradicated.”
The President urged the graduands to use the opportunity offered them by NOUN to develop and empower themselves and contribute to the development of the country.
In his remark, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Vincent Tenebe, said two of the over 7,000 graduating students bagged first class division.
Tenebe said that one of them, Antonia Okonye, a mother of five, was conferred with a Bachelor of Arts in Peace and Conflict Resolution.
The vice-chancellor said the other bagged a Bachelor of Education in Agricultural Education from one of the community study centres in Otukpo, Benue State.
Tenebe said the acceptability of the ODL mode as a good method of education was a major challenge.
He said there the was need for strategic advocacy and general enlightenment to correct the misgiving.
The vice-chancellor said that the development was also linked to the need to correct the impression of the general public that the institution was not a part-time university.
Tenebe said: “All the programmes of NOUN are full-time and are comparable to all programmes in the conventional universities.
“The challenge of not allowing the NOUN graduates who were of NYSC age to participate in the National Youth Service Scheme like graduates of conventional universities is our collective responsibility.
“We must unite and be strong in our appeal to the authorities to ensure its implementation.”
Tenebe also called on the Council for Legal Education to give the institution’s law graduates the opportunity to attend Law School and be called to the Bar.
He argued that graduates of the university were well equipped with skills, adding that with the knowledge they acquired as students they would compete favourably with their peers from other climes.
Tenebe announced that the certificates of the graduating students were ready for collection as it had been the tradition of the institution since inception.
He urged his colleagues who were heads of administration of other public institutions in the country to give their best to encourage the younger generation to actualise their dreams.
Benard Nwogu, a graduating student from Uyo Study Centre, urged the management of the institution to ensure that the course materials were made available online for the students.
Nwogu said: “Most of the time, we pay ahead of time for these things, but I can tell you that you may not get them when you needed them.
“One will be left with no other choice than to go out of your way to get them through any mean.”
Nwogu, who studied Mass Communication, said the Open and Distance Learning mode of education was one of the best things to have ever happened to members of the public who yearn for knowledge.