The Ebonyi State Governor, Francis Nwifuru, has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to expanding tertiary education, pledging full state backing for initiatives that broaden academic access and drive local capacity building.
Speaking while receiving the management team of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), led by Vice-Chancellor Prof. Uduma Oji Uduma, Governor Nwifuru announced that the state will relocate the current NOUN Study Centre in Ebonyi to a larger, more conducive facility to foster research and community engagement.
“We are willing to support, partner with you to advance knowledge in our dear state”, the Governor said.
“We will give you all the needed support; we are relocating your Study Centre to a bigger and more conducive space to enhance learning and drive research and community service.”
Governor Nwifuru emphasised that human capital development remains the cornerstone of his administration’s People’s Charter of Needs agenda.
“We have sent over 700 Ebonyians to pursue postgraduate degrees in Europe. We did this because we want them exposed to the world”.
“Collaborating with both state and non-state actors to modernise learning environments across the state.”
Calling for an immediate end to systemic discrimination against open-learning graduates compared to their conventional university peers.
”I have engaged intellectually with many NOUN students and found they possess the capacity to compete favorably with graduates from any regular university,” Governor Nwifuru noted.
“The faculty members in this institution are equal in quality to their peers, and their students are by no means inferior.”
The Governor also praised the NOUN Governing Council for appointing Prof. Uduma, an Ebonyi-born Professor of Logic, describing him as a distinguished scholar capable of elevating the institution to greater heights.
“We know what he will do in the National Open University. We are happy that Professor Uduma has what it takes to take the University to an enviable height where everyone will be very proud of.”
Earlier, Prof. Uduma outlined the vision behind the visit, praising Governor Nwifuru’s scholarship schemes and specialised university projects while calling for deeper collaboration to expand distance learning in the region.
“I have seen your award of scholarships to various students and how you are building specialised universities.”
“The National Open University is the largest university of the South Saharan Africa with a population of over 190,000 students and 128 study centres and campuses.
The Southeast currently holds the fewest study centers nationwide, with Ebonyi being the latest state to establish one.
NOUN aims to partner with Ebonyi State to offer specialized training in Open and Distance Learning (ODL) and assist local universities in transitioning to dual-mode, technology-blended collegiate systems.
“The primary aim of the National Open University is to make education accessible to everyone by removing all forms of barriers.”
“We want to partner with Ebonyi State to offer training in Open and Distance Learning (ODL), and we are also open to partnering with the universities here to go dual mode, that is, running a technology-blended collegiate system where students can either learn physically on campus or virtually.”
Through these combined efforts, both parties expressed shared confidence that modernizing access will position Ebonyians for global relevance in an increasingly digital economy.
