National Policy on Open Educational Resources for Higher Education in Nigeria: Evaluation of Institutional Compliance Rate to Infrastructure and the Connectivity Goal

Nigeria, in alignment with global trends, embarked on harnessing the potential of Open Educational Resources (OER) through the formulation of the nation’s inaugural National Policy on OER, a pioneering initiative within West Africa. This policy, sanctioned by the National Universities Commission (NUC) and subsequently presented at the Second World OER Congress held in Slovenia in 2017, marked a significant milestone in Nigeria’s educational landscape. However, despite the formal adoption of this blueprint, scant scholarly attention has been devoted to assessing the compliance of Nigerian universities with its provisions. This study delves into the institutional compliance rate vis-à-vis the infrastructure and connectivity objectives outlined in the National Policy on OER for Higher Education in Nigeria. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the research quantitatively evaluates the extent of compliance while qualitatively elucidating the factors contributing to the observed compliance rate and proposing potential remedies to enhance compliance. The empirical findings reveal a modest institutional compliance rate of 7.83%. Critical examination identifies several factors potentially impeding compliance, including deficient administrative commitment, financial constraints, negative attitudes toward compliance, unidentified relevant government agencies, the absence of a comprehensive policy compliance assessment mechanism, inadequate funding, and challenges on the verifiability of implementation efforts. In response to these identified challenges, the study underscores the importance of implementing targeted interventions aimed at fostering greater institutional compliance. Recommendations encompass strategic measures to bolster administrative commitment, address financial exigencies, foster a culture conducive to compliance, elucidate the roles of pertinent governmental entities, establish robust policy compliance evaluation mechanisms, and address issues surrounding implementation verifiability. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the current state of institutional compliance with the National Policy on OER for Higher Education in Nigeria, elucidating pertinent challenges and offering pragmatic solutions to promote enhanced compliance within the educational landscape.