Miva Open varsity decries Nigeria’s admission crisis

THE first private tech-driven Open University in Nigeria, Miwa Open University, has reaffirmed its commitment to effectively fill the gap of admission crisis faced by many qualified Nigerians to secure admission into universities because of space problems, especially in the government-owned universities.

The university in this regard is determined to push its students’ enrollment into various programmes to no fewer than one million students within 10 years of its establishment without compromising standards.

The vice chancellor of the university, Professor Tayo Arulogun, gave this assurance at the launch of the Lagos Study Centre of the institution in Yaba, on Tuesday.

According to him, Miwa University is all out for both quality and quantitative education that will produce fit-for purpose graduates across disciplines, carry out cutting-edge research and innovations as well as community services that can only be found in a world-class university.

He noted that the university since inception two years ago, had steadily scaled up students’ enrollment from around 500 students in its first cohort to more than 5,000 students as of last year. 

“So, the projection is to have over 17,000 students by the end of this year, more than 100,000 by 2027 and one million by 2033,” he added.

Explaining the mode of operations of the university as the one that combines digital delivery with the real-world infrastructure classrooms, the vice chancellor disclosed that all the courses offered by the university at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels have been accredited by the National Universities Commission (NUC).

Arulogun, a Professor of Computer System Engineering, noted that with the blended learning model, the students of the university can actively interact, access electricity, internet, laboratories, and other support systems at their study centres.

He described the offering as the first of its kind by any private university in Africa, noting that the future plan is to establish compact study centres in many major Nigerian cities across the nation’s 774 local government areas.

Explaining the modality, he said: “Our students in Lagos or Abuja Centre will operate in our flagship centres while those in places like Mubi or Damaturu and so forth will connect from their centres for full participation for their respective programmes and also receive support and enjoy power and internet facilities.

“So, we want our students to get an experience close to what is obtainable in a conventional university, such as access to laboratories, physical libraries, even face-to-face interaction with their peers and faculty members,” he stressed.

In his remarks earlier, the chancellor of the university and CEO of uLesson Education Ltd, Sim Shagaya, mentioned that Miwa Open University is deploying a blended learning model as a perfect response to the urgent need for smart learning in Nigeria, especially at the tertiary education level.

Quoting data from the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), he noted that more than two million candidates sit its entrance examination-UTME- into the tertiary institutions on yearly basis with less than 600,000 out of the figure usually securing admissions for lack of space.

He noted that using emerging technology such as what he called AI-powered teaching engines will be a way out suitable to bridge the gap without compromising standards.

According to him, the platform offers a personalised learning experience designed to replicate and potentially exceed the quality of traditional classroom teaching.

He explained that AI would adapt to each student’s learning style, track their progress, and create a tailored educational journey for them.

“Though human faculty members will be present, the AI deployment will give room for global standard of learning and at a lower cost,” he stressed.

READ ALSO: JAMB warns new tertiary institutions against illegal admissions