FG to encourage Technology-Assisted Learning

Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR
President, Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces,
Federal Republic of Nigeria 

The Acting Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education (FME), Hajia Hindatu Umar Abdullahi, on Monday, 31 August, 2015, reiterated the Federal Government's commitment to encouraging technology assisted learning in the education sector, to ensure that Nigerian students were globally competitive and up-to-date. Declaring open the TwoDay Conference on “Technology-Assisted Learning”, jointly organised by the National Universities Commission (NUC), the American University of Nigeria (AUN), Yola and the Digital Promise Foundation, at Barcelona Hotels, Abuja, the Acting Permanent Secretary noted that there was no better driver of the affairs of Nigeria than the participants at the Conference, which had 271 participants, i n c l u d i n g 2 3 Vi c e - Chancellors and others from 80 universities as well as 20 participants from the private sector. Hajia Abdullahi observed that the Conference was a significant step to charting a course for the development of ICT in the Nigerian University System (NUS).

Professor Julius A. Okojie, OON
Executive Secretary, NUC

L-R: Charge d: Affaires, United States Embassy, Ms. Maria Brewer; USAID Mission Director, Micheal T. Harvey
VC, AUN Dr. Margee Ensign and ES, NUC, Prof. Julius A. Okojie

Prof. Chiedu Mafiana
Deputy Executive Secretary I, NUC

 She noted that the objective of the Conference was to ensure that Nigerian universities provided the needed manpower to drive the development of the nation's economy. She commended the efforts of the NUC and the coorganisers of the Conference, noting, in particular, the Commission's leadership role by noting that the theme was apt and relevant, she remarked that the meeting was capable of solving some of the challenges of ICT in the NUS. She commended the organisers for bringing together, the best brains in ICT and the academia, observing that these individuals “drive the nation's university system.”Mrs. Oyo-Ita expressed confidence that, with the quality of presentations, the objectives of the Conference would be achieved and that at the end, participants would come up with a valuable roadmap that would guide Nigeria's ICT policy makers in the right direction. The Acting Permanent Secretary urged participants to strategise for the successful deployment of ICT in the university system in order to improve the quality of teaching and learning in the sector. She assured the gathering that the Ministry of Science and Technology would continue to partner with stakeholders like the NUC and the universities. Earlier, in his welcome address, the Executive Secretary of the NUC, Professor Julius A. Okojie, OON, observed that the major challenges of the NUS had been in the areas of access and quality. He disclosed that the nation had over one million students at the secondary level, who sat for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) annually, out of which, an average of only about 500,000 were absorbed into the NUS. The Executive Secretary informed participants that the Conference was organised because the Commission and its partners realised the need for the university system to utilise alternative models to expand access to education, while assuring quality at the same time.

Hajia Hindatu Umar Abdullahi
Ag. Permanent Secretary,
Federal Ministry of Education (FME)
The NUC Scribe informed the Conference that the Federal Government had increased funding to universities through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) to enable the institutions resolve some of the challenges of infrastructure and cope with increased students' enrolment. He noted that, with so many new structures now available in Nigerian universities, there was the need for the institutions to utilise ICT to further drive would eventually guide Government policy. In her remarks, the President (ViceChancellor) of AUN, Dr. Margee Ensign, welcomed delegates to the Conference. She informed participants on the efforts made by the AUN to empower some Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Adamawa State. According to the Vice-Chancellor, AUN had organised a free ICT training for some of the IDPs, who relocated from their villages as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency. The training, she added, had already started producing results as some of the IDPs were already studying via the mobile education platform. She urged participants to, at the end of the system. Professor Okojie expressed regret that some academic staff in the NUS still lacked interest in the use of ICT, just as some of them lacked basic gadgets such as laptops and PCs. He advocated the use of the social media and other e-platforms in teaching and interacting with large classes. He thanked all participants for attending the Conference, while wishing them a fruitful deliberation. The Secretary-General of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (CVC), Professor Michael Faborode, informed participants that the CVC met recently in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and deliberated on issues concerning the use of ICTin Nigerian universities. He observed that the NgREN, which was only launched in 2014, was already laden with the challenges of funding and called on the participants and other stakeholders to deliberate on such issues as funding of ICT in the NUS in order to develop viable solutions and suggest alternative sources. Professor Faborode welcomed the delegates to the Conference and expressed the hope that the deliberations would eventually guide Government policy. In her remarks, the President (ViceChancellor) of AUN, Dr. Margee Ensign, welcomed delegates to the Conference. She informed participants on the efforts made by the AUN to empower some Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Adamawa State. According to the Vice-Chancellor, AUN had organised a free ICT training for some of the IDPs, who relocated from their villages as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency. The training, she added, had already started producing results as some of the IDPs were already studying via the mobile education platform. She urged participants to, at the end of

the Conference, leave with strategies and solutions that would agement, be organised. He called for the provision of scalable ICT in schools, with a robust programme for maintenance. To the NUC, Professor Okebukola recommended that the Commission should consider initiating and sustaining capacity building in ICT for teaching, research and management for Vice-Chancellors, university teachers with specialised training and teachers trainees. He suggested that the NUC should introduce an annual one-week ICT refreshers course for Vice-Chancellors and facilitate the development of a curriculum on technology-assisted learning. He advised the Commission to institute a “reward and punishment” system that would, for instance, rank the best three universities in ICT and shame the bottom-ranked three. The former Executive Secretary informed the Conference that the NUC was already making significant strides towards deploring state-of-the-art ICT to the university system, particularly through Platforms, for supporting the event. Dr. Adesina thanked the Vice-Chancellors and other participants who graced the Conference. At the end of the Conference, participants recommended that universities should use their already existing ICT resources to share their courses, digitally, with other universities. They also recommended that Nigeria should utilise technology to augment the traditional classrooms and libraries and seek alternative sources of energy to address the epileptic power supply which had hindered technology-assisted learning. They suggested that ICT be integrated in programme curriculum to enable technology-assisted delivery of university education, and that infrastructure, in terms of bandwidth limitations, be improved. Participants recommended the creation of a “League of Innovative Digital Universities” to promote a strong network of people interested in closing the digital technology gap. Participants also recommended that the NUC should collaborate with some universities to build the capacity of teachers in order to bring them up-to-date in the utilisation of ICT for pedagogy. They recommended that funding for

the NgREN. With the NgREN and the subscriber universities being vigorous, Professor Okebukola stated that Nigeria had a good opportunity to improve its performance and double its productivity, using ICT. He suggested the use of virtual laboratories to help teach science subjects such as Biology, Chemistry and Physics, adding that this was necessary since the country could not flood all its laboratories with the required equipment. In her vote of thanks, NUC's Director, Open and Distance Education, Dr. Olamide Esther Adesina, expressed gratitude to the acting Permanent Secretary of the FME for being part of the Conference. She expressed the hope that the Permanent Secretary would communicate the decisions of the proceedings to higher authorities. The Director commended the NUC Executive Secretary for his commitment to the development of the NUS, particularly, by encouraging universities in Nigeria to effectively deploy ICT and introduce alternative modes of learning. She commended the co-organisers of the Conference, including the AUN and Digital Promise Foundation, and the sponsors – MTN, Airtel, SUNNET Systems, IBM and EduPlatforms, for supporting the event. Dr. Adesina thanked the Vice-Chancellors and other participants who graced the Conference. At the end of the Conference, participants recommended that universities should use their already existing ICT resources to share their courses, digitally, with other universities.

 They also recommended that Nigeria should utilise technology to augment the traditional classrooms and libraries and seek alternative sources of energy to address the epileptic power supply which had hindered technology-assisted learning. They suggested that ICT be integrated in programme curriculum to enable technology-assisted delivery of university education, and that infrastructure, in terms of bandwidth limitations, be improved. Participants recommended the creation of a “League of Innovative Digital Universities” to promote a strong network of people interested in closing the digital technology gap. Participants also recommended that the NUC should collaborate with some universities to build the capacity of teachers in order to bring them up-to-date in the utilisation of ICT for pedagogy. They recommended that funding for 5 MONDAY BULLETIN - A Publication of the office of The Executive Secretary 7 September, 2015 Professor Julius A. Okojie in a handshake with Prof. Peter Okebukola A Cross Section of participants at the conference 6 MONDAY BULLETIN - A Publication of the office of The Executive Secretary 7 September, 2015 technology-assisted teaching and learning be improved, just as bandwidth. Participants advised academics in the NUS, particularly, to increase the utilisation of videoconferencing and skype-based interaction for intra and interuniversity teaching. They urged the stakeholders of NgREN, especially the subscriber-institutions, to fulfill their obligations to the project in order to realise its objectives. The Conference recommended that the Federal Government and the private sector should increase their commitment and support to the deployment of ICTat every level of education, just as they noted that Public Private Partnerships (PPP) be encouraged as a strategy to facilitate and deepen industry partnership with the academia. The participants suggested the appointment of professors of practices from the industry to teach practical courses in universities and make the institutions industry-ready. They called on captains of industry to partner universities in order to inspire research. Participants also recommended the creation of a National Science Plan and the establishment of a National Science Foundation that would guide the nation's science policy. They advised the NUC to initiate, with the appropriate Government organ, the development of a National IT policy. They enjoined the Institutions to establish individual University IT Policy. The Conference finally called on Nigerian universities to imitate the AUN initiative in making effective impact on community service development.