ABSTRACT
Globally, higher institutions especially the universities are believed to be the centres for evolving ideas, innovations, research, developmental mechanisms and strategies for positioning nations on the track of technological, social, economic and industrial development. Education is the pivot for implementing Sustainable Development (SD). The concept of sustainable development cannot be realized without a functional and effective higher education system. The wall-to-wall traditional educational mode of delivery seems to be incapable of contributing to its attainment of these global goals; the ODEL mode of education seems to be the tool to reach out to the teeming population dispersed in different locations. Therefore, the focus of this paper is justified by the need to study the contributions of ODeL to the actualization of the five SDG pillars of people, prosperity, planet, peace, and partnership and how ODeL has contributed to the ‘Leave no one behind’ slogan of the SDG in enhancing human well-being, skills and competencies that empower the learners to use their new skills and knowledge for personal enhancements, community developments and global participation. This study adopted a qualitative study and a literature review in the interpretive research paradigm. Data was collected from secondary sources, arranged into themes, and analyzed for content by looking at issues historically and holistically. The study concludes that the digital transformation in the knowledge economy has positioned open, distance and e-learning to play crucial roles in the mass delivery of knowledge for personal, community, national and global development.
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