NOUN Youth Boom Raises Questions Over Open University’s Original Mission

The National Open University of Nigeria is undergoing a major transformation, shifting from a university designed mainly for working adults into a fast-growing destination for young Nigerians seeking alternatives to conventional universities.

Once regarded as a second-chance institution for older professionals, NOUN has experienced a dramatic demographic shift between 2020 and 2025, fuelled largely by its uninterrupted academic calendar, freedom from industrial strikes, and admission process that does not depend heavily on the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.

The university’s changing identity is now raising important questions about its founding vision, the future of open and distance learning in Nigeria, and whether graduates should be mobilized for the National Youth Service Corps.

Data from the institution showed that NOUN’s undergraduate student population reached 133,000 active students in 2025, representing a significant rise in enrolment over the last five years.

The institution recorded 110,431 registered students during the 2022 first semester, up from 100,887 in the 2021 second semester. Newly admitted students also increased from 15,212 in 2021 to 17,956 in 2022.

While the university was traditionally dominated by students above 30 years old, the fastest-growing category is now the 18–22 age bracket.

Reports indicated that students within that age range rose from 50,561 in 2019 to 236,052 in 2025, while the percentage of students aged 30 and above reportedly declined from 79 per cent to 51.3 per cent.

Graduate demographics have also changed sharply. In 2020, about 89 per cent of NOUN’s 3,112 graduates were over 30 years old. By 2025, however, about 60.6 per cent of the institution’s 11,408 graduates were reportedly 25 years or younger.

The shift reflects how younger Nigerians increasingly view NOUN as a direct alternative to conventional universities plagued by strikes, overcrowding, and admission bottlenecks.

The demographic transformation has revived discussions around the exclusion of NOUN graduates from the National Youth Service Corps scheme.

Last April, the National Universities Commission said it would review the policy after concerns were raised by the Chancellor of NOUN, Ewuare II, who argued that younger NOUN graduates were being unfairly denied opportunities available to their counterparts in conventional universities.

Responding to the concerns, NUC Executive Secretary Abdullahi Ribadu said the commission would engage NYSC authorities to reassess the mobilisation framework.

According to Ribadu, the earlier policy was created when most NOUN students were older working professionals who had already exceeded the NYSC age limit.

“Unlike in the past, where graduates of NOUN were 30 years and above, in recent times, you have younger graduates — less than 30 — who are likely to participate in the NYSC based on age,” he explained.

Despite the institution’s rapid growth, some education experts believe NOUN may be drifting away from its original purpose.

Leadership and governance expert Charles Omole argued that while the law establishing NOUN does not restrict admission to mature students, the university was structurally designed to cater primarily to working adults and non-traditional learners.

According to him, open universities globally were created mainly for professionals seeking additional qualifications, adults returning to education, and learners needing flexible study arrangements because of work or family responsibilities.

He noted that institutions such as the The Open University, Indira Gandhi National Open University, and University of South Africa largely maintain older student populations.

Omole described the growing influx of teenagers into NOUN as a “strategic drift,” warning that the institution risks losing alignment with its original functional purpose.

Public affairs analyst John Ude also cautioned that NOUN could gradually become viewed as a lower-barrier alternative to conventional universities rather than a specialised open-learning institution.

“The challenge before policymakers is not to restrict access arbitrarily, but to restore alignment between purpose and practice,” he said.

Similarly, university teacher Tade Adeoluwa argued that open universities are most effective when focused on adult learners.

He stated that if NOUN strictly followed global best practices, the majority of its graduates would naturally be above the NYSC age threshold, thereby eliminating current mobilisation debates.

Education researcher Patricia Ugochukwu warned that Nigeria risks creating a “two-tier degree system” if NOUN increasingly becomes associated with bypassing the traditional university admission process.

She pointed out that the UK Open University still maintains an average student age of 31, while most students at the University of South Africa are above 25 years old.

According to her, those institutions use openness to provide second chances for adults, whereas Nigeria may be unintentionally using openness as a shortcut for younger students unable to secure admission into conventional universities.

“If this continues, we risk creating a two-tier degree system — one for ‘real universities’ and one for ‘JAMB-free university,’” she warned.

For many younger Nigerians, however, NOUN offers opportunities that conventional universities cannot guarantee.

Eighteen-year-old Daniel, now studying Computer Science at NOUN after scoring 140 in the UTME, said he chose the institution because of its stable academic calendar.

“My friends laughed when I told them I picked NOUN. They said NOUN is for old people. But I’ll finish before them. Four years straight. No strike. No ASUU,” he said.

Daniel explained that most of his coursework is completed on his mobile phone, while he visits the study centre only a few times monthly.

Although he admitted missing aspects of campus life enjoyed by students in conventional universities, he said avoiding prolonged admission delays mattered more to him.

Today, with an ecosystem supporting more than 614,000 learners, NOUN has evolved far beyond its original image as a university for older working professionals.

The institution, first proposed by the NUC in 1976 during the leadership of Jubril Aminu, was envisioned as a platform for flexible and inclusive education.

Now, decades later, Nigeria faces a new debate: should NOUN remain primarily a lifelong-learning institution for adults, or embrace its growing role as a mainstream university choice for a new generation of students seeking stability, affordability, and access to higher education?