By Dr Olayinka Leah Olusa
Abstract
It is an established fact, globally, that education plays a significant role in national development. Education is the basic instrument for economic growth, technological advancement of any society and national development. Education has been a weapon with which to equip the people to acquire relevant knowledge, skills and habit for surviving in the modern world. Open and distance learning came to existence because of the universal demand for education, thirst for knowledge and the failure of the conventional education system to cater for higher education. Open and Distance Learning (ODL) Education has become accepted as an integral part of higher education. This paper therefore discussed the Open and Distance Learning as an innovation in Education and its importance to national development; the benefits, challenges and the way forward are also discussed. It is recommended that facilitators of distance learning should be encouraged to register, attend distance learning educational institutions and be aware of students’ individual differences when designing course materials.