The education of the female child has remained constant in the frontline of global discuss. Open and Distance Learning (ODL) contributions towards attaining the sustainable development goal five which is to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls cannot be overstated. ODL is an avenue to bridge the disparity of gender education through the open and flexible learning policy. Female enrolment into ODL programmes is globally on the increase. This study therefore aimed at investigating the expectations and experiences of female learners in ODL using Distance Learning Institute, University of Lagos as the locale of the study. The objectives of the study were to examine issues affecting female learners in ODL, investigate the expectations of female learners when enrolling in ODL, to investigate their experiences and the process of meeting female learners’ expectations. A descriptive survey was used to obtain the information. A validated structured questionnaire was used to...

. Education in the largest sense is act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character or physical ability of an individual. In its technical sense, education is the process by which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills and values from one generation to another. The African continent has the oldest institutional provision for distance higher and further education in the globe. ODL is characterized by the learner taking greater control over what to learn and when to learn it. Even though facilitators are responsible for packaging and facilitating learners’ learning, facilitator-learner face-to face contact constitutes a minor part of the learning process. ODL provides avenues for higher education for such a vast under-privileged population. Nigeria is generously endowed with human resources that need to be well equipped with literacy and skills to contribute to economic development, which is badly needed for this country. ODL at the tertiary level shows a two-fold development pattern.Open and distance learning schemes hold a number og potential benefits for various stakeholders in the education and development process. To the learners, ODL means more freedom of access as well as wider range of opportunities for learning and qualifications, thereby improving their social status. It is often cheaper means of attending school for the learners since some people may not be able to leave their place of work to go to school for full time. Open and distance learning programme has to be encouraged, financed and promoted.

This study examines the role of Open and Distance Learning (ODL), as a tool for enhancing the development of the total person in Nigerian woman. ODL is a planned learning/teaching experience in which the teacher and the students are separated by distance for all or a majority of the period of instruction. Specifically, the study investigated the contributions of ODL in enhancing the development of women in the areas of family health, finances, education, career prospects and socio-cultural perspectives. Five research questions were raised and answered in the study. A 30-itemself-adapted questionnaire with a five-point Likert rating scale was developed and validated for the study. The face and content validity of the instrument was determined by experts in Open and Distance Learning. A pilot test was used to determine the reliability of the instrument. A reliability coefficient of 0.82 was obtained using the Cronbach Alpha technique. Four hundred women (ex-students of ODL programmes) were randomly selected from all walks of life in Webportal developed by www.bertatechsolutions.com.ng Anambra State of Nigeria. Instrument for data collection was delivered by the researchers assisted by some research assistants. Data collection was analysed using mean ratings. Findings revealed that open and distance learning has ushered in positive changes in various aspects of the women's life. In the areas of finances (X = 3.03), health (X = 2.90), education (X = 3.43), career (X = 3.14), social and cultural dimensions (X = 2.58). The study recommends among others, that open and distance learning should equally be used by the government to reach its citizens, especially women who have been denied formal education.

The study examined the extent to which open and distance learning(ODL) is an alternative university education for women at the Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU). it explored 50 ZOU staff, that is, 12 female academic and nine clerks- and 1 7 male academic staff and 12 clerical staff who were all purposively sampled. The study was a qualitative in nature. Its research strategy was a case study. Data were gathered using open-ended questionnaires. The study found out that most women had been deprived of university education because of the absence of ODL university education before 1993. Cultural and historical factors used to elbow women out of the conventional university education. The study concluded that lack of university education for women could be a drawback for the production of the human capital. It also concluded that lack of university education for women was a letdown to national development. The study recommended the need for Ministry of higher and tertiary education stake hol...

Open and Distance Learning (ODL) in Nigeria is a technological strategy staged to solve the challenges of wide access in learning, thereby countering academic disruptions in the face of reprisal attacks and security lapses in the tertiary institutions and the nation at large. It has vastly been recognized as an educational delivery standard which is viable, cost-effective, and flexible without taking quality for granted. This paper x-rays the emergence of open and distance learning education, concept, history etc. This paper canvassed the need for proper funding, engagement and accommodation in the field of academics.

Gender inequality is increasingly on the forefront of global developmental agenda and it is more acute in developing countries. The Indian conditions are much more difficult due to widespread socioeconomic, ethnic, linguistic and cultural variations across the country thus the job of educational planners becomes much more challenging. As compared to conventional systems of education, Open and Distance Learning systems are in a much better position to respond to the peculiar needs of women in India. This chapter describes the status of women education in light of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and intends to explore potential of Open and Distance Learning to address the issues of women empowerment. Efforts are made to place the women scholastic status vis-à-vis educational opportunities, reforms and prospects starting with a global perspective, the hurdles in women education and various governmental initiatives for women education. The constraints, new possibilities and a critic...