ADVOCACY FOR ONLINE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM TOWARDS ENHANCING ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION IN NIGERIA: IMPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT. Pp. 1-16

Abstract

The Nigerian higher education has been plugged into a huge gap between the demand for higher education and the shortage in supply as a result of its inability to absorb the increasing number of students who sat for UTME. This situation has been exasperated by the persistent industrial action by the university lecturers, insecurity, associated effects of post Covid 19 pandemic, among others, thereby hindering access to the teeming population of admission seeking individuals to higher education. Overcoming these challenges and consequently increasing access to Nigerian higher education system, will require the adoption of innovative measures and internet-based solutions, hence the advocacy for online university education. While other countries are capitalizing and reaping the financial benefits of online university education, the Nigerian higher educational system, is still far from leveraging on online education system due to its enormous resultant problems. This opinion paper therefore advocates for the establishment of online university education either independently or via already existing traditional higher institutions to enhance access to higher education in the country. Also, it examines the possible challenges towards establishing online university education in Nigeria.