WHY NOUN STUDENTS WILL CONTINUE TO EMERGE WINNERS IN ACADEMIC COMPETITIONS Corroborative reports from European countries indicate in constant regularity that the Open University (OU UK) continues to take a lead in producing the best lawyers in the United Kingdom. Just recently, this year in particular, students of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) recorded a series of brilliant performances both within and outside the national border. These testimonies do not only gladden the hearts of the able stakeholders of the 21st century university, which is the form of education presently in vogue across the world but also provoke a more favourable opinion about Nigerias educational system in the panoramic view of the international community. The impressive and heart-warning records which, this year alone, followed closely on one another recently caught my attention, arousing my intellectual curiosity as an inquisitive and sensitive observer and making me to wonder about the hows, the whys and the wherefores of students perpetual, enthusiastic, enviable and impressive performance every now, every then, every here and every there. I discover without thinking far that one of the chief factors responsible for this is the effective and efficient reading culture which many Nigerians do not see as having any substantial impacts on students proficiency. But it will be an unforgivable offence to forget so fast and so early the unfathomable effects of such courses as GST 101, 102 and 107 which are intelligently structured to meet students reading challenges as new entrants to university environment. I personally compared the content and context of NOUNs English courses (GST 101 & 102) and discovered it is a far cry from what obtains in conventional universities. Therefore, I will use this psychological moment to acknowledge the fruitful efforts of the editorial team of those and other course materials which are very supportive to NOUNITES and students of conventional universities who now take advantage of the open courseware of the university to explore and decipher any unyielding concepts in their study work. Additionally, an average NOUNITE is more mature compared to the teenage population of conventional universities who mostly read, cram and pass at the sacrifice of proper understanding which is the substance of study activities. A mature reader applies critical reading. He does not just take in all and sundry but filters them thoroughly. To this end I will like to emphasize the importance of good reading method. Another area of difference is the caliber students of Open University in relation to educational, experiential, etc backgrounds. For instance, there are medical doctors, engineers, accountants and other prominent figures and citizens of all stratars running one or other programmes in NOUN. This is a very welcome development especially in the Faculty of Law where diverse backgrounds are highly desirable for the multi-facet discipline. For instance, an Engineer who reads Law is more suitable in handling patent cases than a straight chap from secondary school. Besides, there is a big difference between the reading philosophy of a distance learner compared to a conventional student. Most conventional students read only to pass but most distance learners look beyond the read-to-pass mentality. They are also conscious of what they really gain after reading. They want to know if they are actually impacted by the new knowledge they have just acquired. But as long as a conventional student is able to pass his course, he cares less about these. So, a distance learner is one up in that he or she considers both hows and the whys of education. Finally, the discipline acquired by a distance learner enables him to engage in study even in the absence of tutellage. But for a conventional student, because of the way hes brought up from the outset and because of the nature of his course material he does not engage in any meaningful reading in the absence of lecturers. This is why many students sleep and roam the street in this ASUU reason. It is not their culture to engage in self reading activities and this is a minus to their intellectal development.
Posted on: Wed, 30 Oct 2013 00:18:39 +0000
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