National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN)

The idea of an Open University for Nigeria was first muted by the National Universities Commission (NUC), the Nigerian government regulatory agency for all universities, in 1976. The NUC, then headed by Prof. Jubril Aminu as the Executive Secretary (1975-1979) sent a Memo to the Federal Military Government suggesting that an autonomous Open University be established for Nigeria during the Fourth National Development Plan (1981-1985). This was accepted by the Federal Government and subsequently, the idea made its appearance in the National Policy on Education in 1977. In Section Five Paragraphs 40, Sub-section A of the Policy, the Government declared that:

Maximum efforts will be made to enable those who can benefit from higher education to be given access to it. Such access may be through universities or correspondence courses, or open universities, or part-time and work-study programmes.

The Higher Education Division of the Federal Ministry of Education went to work on the process of creating an Open University and integrating it with the existing educational system in the country.