Promoting Open Educational Resources (OER) in Theological/Religious Education in Nigeria

One of the bigg est challenges facing Theologica l/ Religious Education in Nigeria is access to quality learning materials. For instance at the Trinity (Union) Theological College, Umuahia, it was difficult for lecturers to access suitable and qualitative materials for instruction especially the ones that would suit the African context and stimulate a deep rooted intere st among the students. Some textbooks written by foreign author s were readily available in the School Library, but were lacking in the College bookshops for students to own copies. Even when the Colle ge was able to order some of the bo oks from abroad, it d id not u sher in the needed enthusiasm expected from the students because they were either very expensive or very difficult to understand during private studies. So it became necessary to develop contextual materials which were affordable and under standable, though with little success. The National Open University of N igeria (NOUN)’s innovation in the development and sharing of learning re sources through its Open Courseware is a welcome development and o f great ass istance to students. Apart from NOUN s tudents who cou ld easily access the materials, many others from various theological/religious institutes across the nation have benefited immensely. So, the thesis of this paper is that the prom otion of open educational resources in theological/religious education in Nigeria would f acilitate a better informed/equipped religious leadership, which would in turn im pact its adherents for a h ealthier society and n ational development. Adopting a narrative and hi storical approach within the context of Nigeria’s educational system, the p aper discusses: educational traditions in Nigeria; challenges facing theological/religious education in Nigeria; and benefits of open educational resources. The study goes further to making recommendations on how OE R could positively influence theological/religious education in Nige ria. It is expected that theologians, religious educators, and ODL practitioners would find this work very useful. Keywords—Nigeria, OER, religious education, theological education.