Journal of Academics Vol 5 No. 2, April, 2010.

ICT IN NIGERIA EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM: ISSUES AND INSIGHTS

OGEDEGBE EMMANUEL A.
DEPARTMENT OF OFFICE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT,
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS STUDIES, AUCHI POLYTECHNIC, AUCHI

AND

OYANIYI LAWRENCE OLANREWAJU

MIS UNIT, AUCHI POLYTECHNIC, AUCHI
oyalaw@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT

Day-in-day-out, technology continues to improve thereby improving our way of life.

Technology has not only improved our business but also contribute immensely to our learning
system. This paper discussed the impact of Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
on Nigerian educational system. It laid emphasis on the application of e-learning and m-learning
to all level of education (primary, secondary and tertiary) in Nigeria. These benefits of ICT in
the revitalization of Nigerian educational system were seriously examined. It also discussed the
effort of the government in bridging digital divide and provided solution to problem that may
hinder the application of modern technology into our educational system.

Keyword: Information and Communication Technology, ICT, e-learning, m-learning, Computer,

Nigeria, Educational system

INTRODUCTION facilitating their participation in political

processes. (Bakesha, Nakafeero and
Current literature emphasizes the active role Okello).
of information and communication
technology (ICT) in the development ICT stands for information and
process. It has been widely argued that ICT communication technology so there is no
have enormous potential for reaching rural generally acceptable definition of the term
populations to provide them with education ICT. According to Wali (2001), information
and training, job opportunities, access to technology or IT comprises of various kinds
markets and information important for their and sizes of computers. The computers are
economic activities, as well as facilitating connected via telephones to facilitate the
their economic activities, as well as starting of the data they house. The data
Journal of Academics Vol 5 No. 2, April, 2010.
comes in many forms: texts, sounds and
pictures. Laudon et al., (1994) defined ICT
as information technology and systems
which include all the different means,
methods and tools that humans have used
throughout history to help manage
information, conduct business, communicate
with others and understand the world better.
According to Liverpool (2002); ICT is a
generic term referring to technologies that
are used for collecting, storing, editing and
passing on information in various forms.
Butcher (2003:10) citing Guton (1993)
defines ICT as Electronic technologies for
collecting, storing, processing and
communicating information. They can be
separated into two categories: (1) those
which process information, such as
computer systems, and (2) those which
disseminate information such as
telecommunication system.
Information and communication Technology
can be defined as electronic means of
capturing, processing, storing and
disseminating information. It is the
convergence of microelectronics, computing
and telecommunications which has become
a global phenomenon of great importance
and concern in all spheres, labour,
productivity, trade, commerce and others
(Sesan, 2001). Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) is a
technology such as computers, software,
peripherals and Internet connections
infrastructure required to support
information processing and communication
functions (UNDP, 2001). It facilitates the
creation, storage, management and
dissemination of information by electronics
means. This definition includes radio,
television, telephone, fax, computer and the
internet. Four characteristics describe these
modern ICTs:
i. Interactivity: ICTs are effective
two-way communication
technologies
ii. Permanent availability: the new
ICTs are available 24hourse a
day
iii. Global reach: geographical
distances hardly matter any more
iv. Reduced costs for many: relative
costs of communication have
shrunk to a faction of previous
values.
Information and Communication
Technology (ICT) is the processing and
maintenance of information, and the use of
all forms of computer, communication
network and mobile technologies to mediate
information. Communication technologies
include all media employed in transmitting
audio, video, data or multimedia such as
cable, satellite, fibire optics, wireless (radio,
infra-red, wifi). Network technologies
include personal area networks (PAN),
campus area network (CAN), intranets,
extranets, LANs, WANs, MANs, and the
internet. Computer technologies include all
removable media such as optical discs, flash
memories, video books, multimedia
projectors, interactive mobile phones, PDAs,
palmtops, etc, these technologies have
information as their material object
(Ogechukwu and Osuagwu, 2008).
Journal of Academics Vol 5 No. 2, April, 2010.

INTEGRATION OF ICT IN ALL user internace and comes with a web

LEVELS OF EDUCATION browser and a web processor (Ajadi et al.,
2008). Most primary schools especially the
Nigeria is the most populous nation in sub- private ones have established computer
Saharan Africa with about 140million laboratory and employed the use of
people (NPC, 2007), occupying a landmass computer as one of the instructional
of about 923,768 square kilometers and with materials.
over 274 ethnic groups making up the
federation. The social and economic ICT IN SECONDARY-LEVEL
dimensions of providing education for the EDUCATION
population, within the context of prevailing
national circumstances of dwindling Government, non-governmental
financial and other resources in the face of organization, non-profit organization and
developments needs are heavy. The ever- multi-national companies have helped in
continuing growth in Nigeria’s population, integrating ICT in secondary-level
the attendant escalating demand for education. According to Ajadi et al. (2008),
education at all levels, the faculty of re- SchoolNet Nigeria is a non-profit
sourcing education through the traditional organization crated to address the use of ICT
means of face-to-face classroom bound in Nigerian secondary schools with the
mode, and the compelling need to provide support of several government ministries.
education for all irrespective of SchoolNet increase learning communities of
environmental, social or cultural educators and learners to use ICTs to
circumstances have meant that the country enhance education by:
must of necessity find the appropriate and  Implementing, supporting, and
cost effective means to respond adequately coordinating ICT development
to the huge unmet demand for education projects in education
(Ajadi, Salawu and Adeoye, 2008).  Providing and supporting lower-cost,
ICT IN PRIMARY EDUCATION scalable technology solutions and
Internet for schools
Nigerian government recently embraced the  Providing support mechanisms for
US $100 XO laptop computer project for schools for technical infrastructure
Nigeira’s 24 million public primary school and connectivity.
children. About one million of these
laptops, which can be cranked and do not ICT IN TERTIARY LEVEL
need external power supply, for the primary EDUCATION
school children has been ordered by the
Governmental and non-governmental
government. The laptops have in-built
organizations, banks and individuals have
wireless networking, use a 512 MB flash
funded the implementation of ICT in
memory without a hard disk, and have two
Nigerian educational institution. Some of
USN ports to which more memory or
these organizations include the Nigeria
devices could be attached. They have new
Journal of Academics Vol 5 No. 2, April, 2010.
Communications Commission (NCC) and
Education Trust Funds (ETF) geared
towards Universities and Polytechnics.
MTN Nigeria, a telecommunication
company digitizes some higher institutions
in Nigeria by constructing digital library,
provision of computes and some other ICT
equipment. Also Zinox computers an
indigenous computer company donates
thousands of laptops computer to various
Polytechnics and Universities in Nigeria.
Most of our higher institutions are now
using ICT in tackling most of their
administrative problems and provision of
qualitative and quantitative education.
Payment of tuition, hostel and other sundry
fees which were formerly paid in cash or
bank draft are largely carried out online.
Online registrations and payment have now
eliminated the nightmare of long queues for
payments and eventual disappearances of
uncollected revenues by dubious means are
now eliminated.
METHODS OF LEARNING IN ICT
ENVIRONMENT
ICT applied to education could be deployed
in modes of e-learning, mobile learning,
distance education and online learning. E-
learning though, seems to be a bigger
umbrella over distance learning, online and
mobile learning.
E-learning is gaining popularity in the early
2000s, the term e-learning refers to any
electronically assisted instruction, but most
often associated with instruction offered via
computer and the internet. It is the use of
technology to enable people learning
anytime and anywhere. E-Learning can
include training, the delivery of just-in-time
information and guidance from experts. e-
learning according to Sale (2002), is the use
of electronic technology to deliver education
and training applications, monitor learner’s
performance and report learners progress. It
is a general term referring to formal and
non-formal education that see electronic
delivery methods such as internet-based
learning delivery packages, CD-ROM,
online video conferencing, websites or email
to manage the relationship between teacher
and learners.
Hedge and Hayward (2004) defined e-
learning as an innovative approach to
delivering electronically mediated, well-
designed, learner-centred and interactive
learning environments to anyone anyplace,
anytime by utilizing the internet and digital
technologies in concern with instructional
design principles.
According to (Khan, 1996, Pierre, 1988), e-
learning offers students considerable
benefits including increase access to
learning opportunities convenience of time,
and place, making available a grater variety
of learning resources, improve opportunities
for individualized learning and emergence
of more powerful cognitive tools.
Ogechukwe and Osuagwu (2008) explained
that in Nigerian schools, the commonest
type of e-learning is in form of CD-ROM
which can be played as at when the learner
desires. The challenge of this method is that
the number of students per computer in
which these facilities are available are
interactive as compared to when lectures are
been received in the classroom. Some
institutions adopted the use of intranet
facilities; however, this is not well
Journal of Academics Vol 5 No. 2, April, 2010.
maintained because of incessant power
problem and high cost of running generating
set.
NEED FOR E-LEARNING
There are so many reasons for adoption of e-
learning into Nigerian educational system
apart from the fact that there is need to
embrace new technology. Firstly, majority
of Nigerian lives below poverty level
thereby depriving them from attending
urban based institutions and thus remain
deprived of higher education despite their
superior merit. Secondly, those who joined
workforce without completing their
education due to family commitments are
unable to combine their work with studies
and every few of them who have strong
desire higher studies could not do so
because of the limited offer in the traditional
institution of higher learning. Thirdly, the
tradition of childhood, early marriage and
religious belief in the country deprives the
majority of female population from higher
education. Also, physical disabilities,
remoteness of localities, exorbitant tuition
fees in most privately owned Universities
are some of the impediments that deprive
majority of Nigerians of higher education.
E-learning provides avenue for higher
education for such a vast under-privilege
population (Ogechuckw and Osuagwu,
2008). Some of the advantages provided by
e-learning include:
 provide a wider access to education
generally but specifically in
University education in Nigeria.
 ensure equity and equality of
opportunities in education
 enhance education for all and life-
long learning
 provide the entrenchment of global
learning culture
 provide instructional resources via an
intensive use of ICTs
 provide flexible, but qualitative
education
 reduce the cost, inconveniences,
hassles of and access to education
and its delivery
 enhance more access to education
 it provide student courses round the
clock i.e. 7 days, a week and 24
hours a day, which further attracts
working class, students and
individual
There have recently been significant
developments in mobile technologies,
resulting in devices that combine telephone
and wireless internet connection with some
of the functionality of personal computers.
Many of these devices are described as
handhelds or personal digital assistants
(Sharples, 2000). Handhelds have been
described as flexible tools that can be
adapted to suit the needs of a variety of
teaching and learning styles’ (Cutis,
Luchini, Bobrowsky, Quitana, and Soloway,
2002).
Quinn (2000) defined Mobile learning as
learning through mobile computational
devices. Shepherd (2001) says: M-learning
is not just electronic, it’s mobile. Kynaslahti
(2003) identifies three different elements for
mobility and all of these are valuable to
teachers and students while they are
teaching and learning
Journal of Academics Vol 5 No. 2, April, 2010.
i. Convenience
ii. Expediency
iii. Immediacy
M-learning (Wikipedia, 2008) opined that it
is the learning that happens across locations,
or that takes advantages of learning
opportunities offered by portable
technologies. It also refer to any sort of
learning that happens when the learner is not
at a fixed predetermined location, or
learning that happens when the learners
takes advantages of learning opportunities
offered by mobile technologies.
According to Traxler (2005), he commented
that mobile learning can be defined as
educational provision where the sole or
dominant technologies are handheld or
palmtop devices. Also, mobile learning is
those flexible tools as that can be adapted to
suit the needs of a variety of teaching and
learning styles (Curtis et al., 2002).
Many definitions of mobile learning focus
on the harnessing such mobile devices for
learning, e.g. Traxler (2005) comments that
“Mobile learning can perhaps be defined as
‘any educational provision where the sole or
dominant technologies are handheld or
palmtop devices’ “.
Mobile learning applications are best viewed
as mediating tools in learning. It also
applies to learning with portable
technologies where the focus is on the
technology, and learning in a mobile society,
with a focus on how society and its
institutions can accommodate and support
the learning of an increasingly mobile
population.
GOVERNMENT EFFORTS TOWARDS
INTEGRATION OF ICT IN
EDUCATION
1. Telecenter: Federal Government has
successfully established digital
centers in all secretariats of Local
Governments in Nigeria. Each
center is equipped with modern state
of heart digital equipment that
enables the rural community to be
hooked to the internet.
2. Establishment of NCC: Nigeria
government has established a body
called Nigeria Communication
Commission which regulates various
ICT policies in Nigeria. They body
has for the past 10years regulate
service providers in Nigeria to
ensure that quality services are
provided for all Nigerians at
avoidable price.
3. Establishment of Centre of
Excellence for Software Engineering
in tertiary institution. The aim of
establishing these centres is to enable
Nigerians to develop local software
for the use of the masses because of
high cost of foreign software
available in the market.
4. The Nigeria National Information
Technology Development Agency
(NITDA): Established in 2001 to
implement the National Policy on
Information Technology has a
mobile unit in a locally made bus
that has been converted into mobile
training and cyber centre (Ajayi,
2003). Its interior has 10 high-tech
workstations all networked and
connected to the Internet to facilitate
Journal of Academics Vol 5 No. 2, April, 2010.
access to several IT resources.
Internet access is provided via a very
small aperture terminal (VSAT)
mounted on the roof of the bus.
LIMITATION TO INFUSION OF ICT
IN EDUCATION
Integration of ICT is still a dream in the
Nigerian educational sector because of the
poor ICT infrastructure and other socio-
economic reasons. Some of the
impediments to integration of ICT in
education are as follows:
Digital Divide: This is the inequality of
access to the technology by the students.
The cost of a personal (PC) and Laptop are
still very high in Nigeria.
Literacy and Local Content Barrier:
Interfaces have been developed suing icons,
graphics, touch screens, and voice
recognition for the illiterate and neo-literate.
Information available through ICTs is
mostly in English, which the majority of
developing countries rural communities
cannot read. There is a marked shortage of
relevant materials in local languages that
respond to their needs and this call for
“significant investment and support for local
content” (Norrish, O’Frel and Scott, 1999).
The project works with NGOs and
individuals or organizations using ICTs and
living in rural areas. The project has a
library of books, microfiche and CD-ROMs
that provide appropriate information
resources but most of these materials are in
English, and may not be appropriate for
every region or culture. Thus, there is need
to develop more local content in appropriate
languages (Villageearth, 2000).
ICT Policy and Implementation: The
absence of policy at the ministerial level has
not helped co-ordinate ICT projects and
programmes being carried out separately by
various agencies operating in the education
sector. And will lead to resource wastage
and duplication.
Gender Equality: Traditional daily
household demands still take priority over
girls’ education especially in the northern
states.
Maintenance and Technical Support:
There are few technical staff to maintain the
system, this makes it very expensive for few
students that have PCs to maintain them
when a technical problem is noticed.
Internet Connectivity: The cost of
accessing internet is still very high in terms
of bandwidth. Equipment and connection
costs are generally excessive for all
developing regions, but are greater obstacle
for developing countries in Africa, South
Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean.
In Ethiopia, 20 hours of Internet access per
month for a year amounts to 8.4 times the
GDP per capital. Even for the elite, this
amount usage would account for 50 percent
of a university professor’s take-home pay.
The cost of a computer can be ten times the
annual GDP per capital of may LDCs in
Africa. In Vietnam, yearly dialup accesses
to the Intent costs $360, while the annual per
capital income is less than $350.
Inadequate Electrical Power Supply: The
perennial problem in Nigeria is the problem
of electricity instability which has been a
major setback for our technological
development. It is maddening for any
Journal of Academics Vol 5 No. 2, April, 2010.
establishment to start off new projects
without addressing the almighty power
supply problem. It is even worse to embark
on extensive ICT project within an
educational institution without solving
power problems first.
CONCLUSION
The benefits of integrating ICT into Nigeria
educational system cannot be
overemphasized. These cut across all levels
of education. These benefits does not only
limited to simplicity, convenience,
portability and mobile learning but also
useful in combating the menace of
examination malpractices which are rampart
in all level of our education. Various
problems militating against integration of
ICT are identified and possible solutions are
suggested.
RECOMMENDATION
Having considered the impediment to
integration of ICT into Nigerian educational
system. The following recommendations are
made to ensure tis integration into our
educational system:
The use of NIGCOMSAT-1 to connect
schools to the internet will be of advantage
since it is won by Nigerian government
Agreement should be made with major
stakeholders like Microsoft, CISCO, and
others to spread the knowledge and usage of
ICT including the production of Nigerian
language versions of Microsoft products and
other software
Government should endeavor to train
teacher-trainer in major fields of ICT
networks to enhance the deployment of
Internet services and facilities especially in
urban areas
Inclusion of ICT related subject should be
included in both primary and secondary
schools curriculum to enable early exposure
to the use of computer.
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