Challenges and Opportunities of Open Educational Resources at University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh

Abstract

This paper examines the insight of OER initiatives, benefits, and challenges based on a survey designed to gauge the students’ perceptions of adopting OER. The survey was conducted in January 2024 among 116 students from 12 Faculties at Rajshahi University, Bangladesh. An overwhelming majority of respondents (99.14%) strongly agree that OER includes research, teaching, and learning resources accessible to everyone. Most respondents (97.41%) agree that UGC Digital Library (UDL) plays a significant role in facilitating access to a wide range of digital academic materials, helping higher education institutions to integrate and disseminate OER (x̄ = 1.97, σ = 0.16). OER is also considered as a popular and efficient method for collaborative learning (99.14%; x̄ = 1.01; σ = 0.09). However, there are numerous obstacles to developing OER in Bangladeshi educational institutions. To promote OER in higher education, frequent capacity-building programs should be conducted within educational institutions to establish sustainable OER-based services (50%; x̄ = 1.51; σ = 0.52). Everyone has the right to access accurate information. Therefore, OER transforms the approach to education by promoting a more humanistic view of knowledge.