The Pro-Chancellor of Miva Open University, Dr Tunji Olowolafe, has urged students to take advantage of online education to pursue degrees without abandoning their jobs, businesses and family responsibilities.
Olowolafe said flexible learning was becoming increasingly important in a world where workers must continually update their knowledge and skills to remain relevant throughout their careers.
He spoke at the weekend during the university’s matriculation ceremony, where he encouraged newly admitted students to treat their academic programmes with the same seriousness and discipline they bring to their professional lives.
According to him, conventional university education has often required students to relocate, leave employment or put other responsibilities on hold, making it difficult for many Nigerians to pursue higher education.
He said Miva’s online learning model offered an alternative by allowing students to study while maintaining their livelihoods, raising families, caring for relatives and managing businesses.
Olowolafe added that the experience students gained from their workplaces and communities could enrich classroom discussions and help them connect academic knowledge with practical challenges.
He urged the new students to contribute those experiences to their studies while remaining focused on completing their programmes.
However, he cautioned that the flexibility of online education also required strong personal commitment, particularly when work and family demands competed for students’ attention.
“The hard part of online learning is not starting – it is staying the course when life gets busy,” he said.
The Pro-Chancellor described continuous learning as essential to professional development, arguing that people should be able to acquire new qualifications and skills at different stages of their lives without necessarily interrupting their careers.
He also highlighted efforts to reduce the financial barriers facing students, disclosing that the Tunji Olowolafe Foundation had partnered with Miva Open University to establish the Gbemisola Olowolafe Miva Scholarship.
The initiative, he said, was designed to help ensure that financial constraints did not prevent academically qualified students from accessing higher education.
Olowolafe urged scholarship recipients and other matriculating students to make the most of the opportunity by remaining committed to their studies and completing their degrees.
He said it was a privilege to attend the graduation of the university’s pioneer cohort in Lagos in June and subsequently witness the admission of a new group of students.
Expressing optimism about their academic journey, he encouraged the matriculants to work towards returning to the institution for their convocation.
He also commended the university’s Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor, Governing Council and management for their contributions to the institution’s development.
