Virtual Laboratory (VL) has revolutionized STEM programs in higher education, and there is an increasing demand for VL education to replace or to focus on an integrative technique in the resolution of real-life issues with the utilization of technology. The high and growing demand for VL education is to replace or complement remote, feasible, and equitable handson practical learning, and this will support ubiquitous learning from any place at any time in a flexible environment. A VL allows access via an internet connection and offers learners the required infrastructure to complete laboratory tasks without attending physical laboratory facilities from anywhere and anytime. NOUN is an open and distance learning (ODL) institution with 110 study centres. It is very difficult to duplicate physical laboratories in all the centres for STEM students. Currently, NOUN conducts physical education, or hands-on practical, for students in only thirteen centres, and students from other centres are expected to join the nearest study centre for the exercise, but previous exercises showed that the attendance had been very low due to obvious constraints. However, there is little information on how virtual laboratories are being developed and used, and more research on how virtual laboratories can be effectively used to address equity and access issues in STEM education is needed. This research paper presents a survey study that aims to explore the implementation of virtual laboratories in STEM courses at the NOUN from the perspective of students. This study applied an online survey design by using a Google form to collect data from STEM NOUN students (undergraduate and postgraduate). The study surveyed 4570 students enrolled in STEM courses, and data were collected through an online questionnaire. The questionnaires were distributed using the students’ WhatsApp numbers and consisted of five (5) sections of open-and closed-ended questionnaires. Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) was coded in spread sheets to analyse responses from independent variables among the demographic data collected. The overall result showed that 49% opted for physical laboratories, 21% selected VL, 12% picked collaboration with other universities, 08% adopted hybrid, and 09% chose no idea. NOUN practices remote learning and already has an existing Learning Management System (LMS) website, which allows learners to access it by utilizing their internet connections and a web browser, from anywhere and anytime. This means that the integration of VL, when developed, can easily be plugged into the NOUN's existing LMS. VL are known to keep learners’ interest up, have the ability to generate a lot of data for learning analytics, and are cost effective. The introduction of a VL in NOUN will drastically reduce the rate of attrition among NOUN STEM-based learners. Generally, developed VL for STEM can be shared with STEM courses in other Nigerian higher education institutions since both the conventional and non-conventional modes of learning in Nigeria have the same curriculum.