Open and Distance Learning for Sustainable Development

systems such as water, and land and air cannot go on forever. Especially as the world’s population
continues to increase and we already see a world where over a billion people live on less than a
dollar a day.
A widely used and acceptable international definition of sustainable development is:
‘development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs’. Globally, we are not even meeting the needs of the present
let alone considering the needs of future generations.
Unless we start to make real progress toward reconciling these contradictions, we face a future
that is less certain and less secure. We need to make a decisive move toward more sustainable
development. Not just because it is the right thing to do, but also because it is in our long-term
best interests. It offers the best hope for the future. Whether at school, in the home or at work, we
all have a part to play. Our small everyday actions add up to make a big difference (file://f:\uk
govt.sustainable development)
Distance education is an educational process in which a significant proportion of the teaching is
conducted by someone removed in space and/or time from the learner. Open learning, in turn, is
an organised educational activity, based on the use of teaching materials, in which constraints on
study are minimised in terms either of access, or of time and place, pace, method of study, or any
combination of these. The term ‘open and distance learning’ is used as an umbrella term to cover
educational approaches of this kind that reach teachers in their schools, provide learning resources
for them, or enable them to qualify without attending college in person, or open up new
opportunities for keeping up to date no matter where or when they want to study. Open and
distance learning often makes use of several different media. Students may learn through print,
broadcasts, the internet and through occasional meetings with tutors and with other classmates.
History of Distance Education in Nigeria
The history of education in Nigeria dates back to the practice of correspondence education as a
means of preparing candidates for the General Certificate in Education; a pre- requisite for the
London matriculation examination. This practice was described by (Belt and Tight, 1999:2) and
echoed by (Tait, 2003:2), who said:
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… the university of London has been termed the first ‘’Open University’
because of this move, students all around the world, but principally
Within the British Empire and its domains, were soon looking for tutorial
support to supplement the bare syllabus they received on registration
Wherever they lived (www.undp.org/info21/public/distance/pb-dis2html)
In this sense, Nigeria was not left out of the opportunities provided by the University of London.
Few illustrations take us beyond these clues. Ahmadu Bello University, offered a special training
programme called: The Correspondence and Teachers in-Service programme (TISEP),
Established in 1976 to prepare middle level teachers for Nigeria’s primary schools.
The Correspondence and Open Studies Unit (COSU), now called Distance Learning Institute, was
established in 1974 by the University of Lagos to produce university graduates in disciplines
necessary to meet national labour needs (e.g. Teachers, nurses etc).
The first independent institution dedicated solely to distance education, the National Teachers’
Institute (NTI), which was officially established in 1978 to upgrade unqualified teachers working
in the nations primary schools and accelerate the preparation of qualified teachers needed for the
implementation of the Universal Primary Education Programme in 1976 and the Universal Basic
Education Programme introduced in 1999.