Joy Abosede Peter

The fusion of Information Communication Technology (ICT) and open educational resources (OER) has brought about a transformative wave in global education, elevating both student engagement and academic performance. Despite these positive strides, persistent challenges such as gender-based technology disparities and social factors remain prevalent. The COVID-19 pandemic has acted as a catalyst, accelerating the adoption of OER. This study examined availability and accessibility of open educational resources in distance learning centers in Oyo state A descriptive survey research design was adopted, the study gathered data through a Google Form-based online questionnaire, reaching 500 open educational students across three distance learning centres, 381 valid responses were retained for analysis, which was performed using SPSS software. The findings unveiled that open educational resources were available in distance learning centers, predominantly through e-library platforms. Students possessed access to essential devices and could connect to OER through their centre’s website and free Wi-Fi. A noteworthy negative correlation between resource availability and access was identified. Furthermore, a significant gender-based difference was noted, favouring male students with higher access to OER compared to their female counterparts. The study affirmed the availability of open educational resources in distance learning canters and the students' access to these resources. Recommendations included efforts to enhance availability, improve student access.