Developing a Standards Framework for Open Educational Resources in Nigerian Higher Education

Open educational resources hold potential for democratising access to quality curriculum materials across Nigerian higher education, but the absence of quality standards for OER production and use limits their effective deployment in a context where digital inequity is pronounced. This study developed a standards framework for open educational resources in Nigerian higher education institutions, with reference to practice at the University of Lagos, Ahmadu Bello University, and University of Port Harcourt as baseline case contexts. A professional framework development methodology was applied, drawing on review of UNESCO OER Recommendation 2019, Commonwealth of Learning OER quality frameworks, and structured consultations with 20 academic staff, 10 librarians, and 8 educational technology specialists across the three institutions. Assessment of current OER practice confirmed that 72.0 percent of academic staff were unaware of OER licensing principles, only 18.0 percent had ever created OER for public sharing, and institutional OER policies were absent from all three assessed universities. The developed framework specifies content quality standards (accuracy, currency, pedagogical design), accessibility standards, licensing requirements (Creative Commons compliance), metadata documentation standards, and institutional infrastructure requirements for OER hosting. Expert review by nine OER and higher education specialists confirmed the framework's international alignment and Nigerian applicability. The study recommends TETFUND adoption of the framework as a standard for funding OER development projects at Nigerian public universities.

Keywords: open educational resources, OER standards, higher education, Nigeria, curriculum content quality