ASSESSMENT OF THE USE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY (ICT) IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN KATSINA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This research work is on the ‘Assessment of the Use of Information and Communications Technology in Tertiary Institutions in Katsina State, Nigeria‟. The sample institutions were UMYU and IKCOE out of the four tertiary institutions under the control of Katsina State Government viz Umar Musa Yar‟adua University, Isa Kaita College of Education, Hassan Usman Katsina Polytechnic and Yusuf Bala Usman Legal and General Studies. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. The population of the sample institutions (UMYU and IKCOE) were 663 lecturers (UMYU 452 and IKCOE 211 lecturers) and 10,866 students (UMYU 5799 and IKCOE 5067 students). The sample was calculated as 350 lecturers (UMYU 210 and IKCOE 140 lecturers) and 722 students (UMYU 361 and IKCOE 361 students). The data collection procedure was through the use of questionnaire titled „Assessment of the Use of Information and Communication Technology in tertiary Institutions in Katsina State‟. The instrument was administered as part of the analysis procedure which took place within a period of two weeks, in December, 2013 and analyses were completed using simple percentage. The findings of the study clearly revealed that the types of ICT resources provided in tertiary institutions in Katsina State were inadequate. It is recommended that ICT resources and facilities be provided to tertiary institutions in the State: Lecturers should endeavour to acquire some of these tools, since they are integral part of the instructions, government and non-governmental organisations should put more emphasis on campaigns in order to create awareness on the positive role of ICT in today‟s modern society.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1         Background to the Study

The use of ICT could be an effective tool in attaining any goal set by Tertiary Institutions, the Society and the Government. Many investigations and researches have revealed that ICT is an important fulcrum on which modern society revolves around. This mean it is an effective instrument in bringing change which could lead to faster advancement in every sector of human life, most especially if effectively and efficiently managed. Historically, when modern technology emerges first in other parts of the world including Africa and precisely Nigeria, traditional systems of instruction was common before the recent replacement with a new one that is ICT-based, some of the changes introduced were partly adopted while some were wholly adopted in schools, most especially in the developing countries, Nigeria inclusive. These adoptions or uses were visible in almost all levels of education system- pre-primary, primary, secondary, and Tertiary Institutions.

Institutional activities like record keeping, admission processing, students registration, teaching, learning, practical demonstrations, , assessments and so on could be achieved via the use of ICT. Therefore in trying to put into our knowledge how system of Nigeria‟s education looks like, it is classified into different levels mainly four or five viz pre-primary, primary, secondary (JSS and SSS) and tertiary levels (Adeyemi and Olaleye, 2010). In short, the system is designed as 6-3-3-4 system before it was recently changed to 1-6-3-3-4 system which made it five levels. In recent periods, the traditional methods were commonly employed such as chalkboard, human talks and poor quality print materials. But as time progresses, modern man understood the need to simplify and improve his life, these resulted in the design and implementation of the use of variety of machines that formed the basis of new process for passing information, of communications, of management and administration in education and in other areas as well. These led to the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) resources in tertiary institutions.

What is ICT? ICT refers to so many things but for the sake of simplicity and clarity in this research work, it refers to the integration of computing technology and information. Also, Mohanty and Vohra (2008) added broadly that ICT could also be defined as „„anything which allows us to get information, to communicate with each other, or to have an effect on the environment using electronic or digital equipment.‟‟ In the views of Asiabaka and Oku (n.d), the heart of the ICT revolution are the computers because they are fast information processing machines (IPM), configured to receive input in the form of information, systematically process the input and provide organized information that serves the needs of the user.

The early computers were designed to aid computation, however, today, their use has become diverse and computation is just one among the many functions of the computer. Adeyemi and Olaleye (2010), emphasised that the use of ICT can improve education quality, expand learning opportunities and make education accessible. If education is made accessible to all, people who lived both in the rural and urban areas, learners with special needs and others would benefit more with less difficulty. It is due to the above and other advantages of use of ICT that the Nigerian Educational reforms stressed the importance of use of computer technology in schools during the 32^nd Ministerial Council meeting of the National Council on Education in 1987, (Adeyemi and Olaleye, 2010). Emphatically, the National Policy on Education (FRN) as revised in 1988 and 2004, re – emphasized the need for the integration of this ICT education in the Nigerian educational system. This is an acceptance of the need to go beyond computer to the level of ICT which also call the need for infrastructure, (Agbetuyi and Oluwatayo, 2012). It is the hope of this research to identify whether these ICT resources are provided in Katsina State Tertiary Institutions or otherwise. In analysing the policy of Nigeria‟s education system, Zubairu (2013) noted that the policy (National Policy on Education) was inadequate for positive impact on the Nigerian education system. This, he noted, stems from the fact that the philosophical frame of reference is market driven, and that there is little emphasis on the integration of ICT in instruction. It should be noted that none of the policy documents, National Policy on Computer Education, neither National Policy on Education nor Nigerian National Policy on Information Technology recognised the need to use the computer or ICT to provide access to education for people with disability. This underscores a major inadequacy in the policy document, (Zubairu, 2013). In addition the strategies outlined in the document were not followed. These might have made still difficult to marry out this new development in to our tertiary institutions.

In stressing term, the importance of ICT is quite enormous from the general educational perspective. According to Achimugu, Oluwagbemi and Oluwaranti (2010), higher education is approaching the point at which science and technology particularly ICT, plays a vital role in nearly all phases of the educational process. The Internet has emerged as a major driving force of this dynamic development of ICTs which has impacted positively in virtually every sector of the Nigerian economy. In the education sector, Tertiary Institutions use computers in their academic programs in order to produce good quality of research output and learning.

Though the chalkboard, textbooks, radio/television and film have been used for educational purposes over the years, none has quite impacted on the educational process like the computer.Other means of Information Communications Technologies according to Adeyemi and Olaleye (2010), apart from computers are internet services, projector screen, laptop, scanning machine, printer, photocopier machine, hardware, software, rad io cassette, television, satellite dishes, handsets, Xerox machines and fax machines, whi ch facilitates human communications and also boosts educational frontiers. Due to this background this research is being conducted in order to assess the use of Information and Communications Technology in Tertiary Institutions in Katsina State.

1.2         Statement of Problem

In spite of the contributions and advantages which ICT has brought to all human endeavours such as improvement of the quality of education, simplifying the general administrative and management activities, expansion of the learning opportunities and making education accessible, much have not been done in its development in Katsina State, Nigeria. Few Tertiary Institutions in the State took a serious step in providing the necessary atmosphere and environment for the inclusion of Information and Communications Technology resources. The enormous increase in students‟ and lecturers‟ quest and pursuit for information, government and societal need for fast growth and development, has doubled over the years. This increase has called for the use of sophisticated equipment and facilities such as ICT resources for the processing, analysis and interpretation of raw data. It has been observed by experts, however, that ICT resources might not have been used effectively in institutions in Katsina State. Inspite of the benefits attached to the use of ICT still there is problem in the area of application most especially in education. These have resulted in poor lesson delivery by lecturers, and low assimilation and comprehension of facts, ideas and information looking at the population explosion in our schools. Also, lecturers and students have become adamant in updating their knowledge through research and online investigations. Important activities such admission processes, public lectures and announcements, classroom lecture presentations, grading, scoring and marking, result preparation and checking as well as general inter and intra school communications are still manually done, these are serious problems. It is further recognised that despite the fact that some institutions may be offering ICT related study programmes, most have relied on theoretical elucidation, explanation and description of concepts and ideas instead of the practical aspects of explanation and pedagogy. The benefits related to ICT use in education are enormous and unquantifiable but many foreseen and unforeseen factors have not allowed students, lecturers, government, society, individuals and other users to reap the benefits attach to it. Examples of these benefits are found in the social, economic, political and business experiences of the society. Therefore this research study wishes to investigate and assess the general use, problems and prospects of the use of ICT resources in Tertiary Institutions in Katsina State, Nigeria

1.3         Objectives of the Study

The following objectives were raised to guide the study:

1. Determine the extent to which tertiary institutions are provided with ICT resources in Katsina State.
2. Assess the types of ICT study programmes offered in tertiary institutions in Katsina State.
3. Find out about the lecturers‟ access to ICT resources for teaching in tertiary institutions in Katsina State.
4. Find out about the students‟ access to ICT resources for learning in tertiary institutions in Katsina State.
5. Determine the lecturers‟ perception on the benefits of ICT resources in tertiary institutions in Katsina State
6. Determine the students‟ perception on the benefits of ICT resources in tertiary institutions in Katsina State.

1.4         Research Questions

The study will seek to answer the following research questions:

1. To which extent are tertiary institutions provided with ICT resources in Katsina State?
2. Does tertiary institutions in Katsina State offer ICT related study programme(s)?
3. What are the ICT resources lecturers have access to for teaching in tertiary institutions in Katsina State
4. What are the ICT resources students have access to for learning in tertiary institutions in Katsina State?
5. What are the lecturers‟ perceptions on the benefits of ICT in tertiary institutions in Katsina State?
6. What are the students‟ perceptions on the benefits of ICT in tertiary institutions in Katsina State?

1.5         Significance of the Study

The research will expose facts to both lecturers and students which will eventually instil into them the needed attitude towards understanding the significance of ICT in their research and learning activities as well as teacher-student interaction, and avail them more to the global challenges of modern techniques of accessing new information. For instance students will be exposed to typing skills and discovery, interpretation and analysis of new facts which otherwise couldn‟t have been possible without ICT. Lecturers would be able to undertake cumbersome and huge amount of their work simply and accurately. For example by calculating and presentation of student‟s results and grading and research works. The research will be a useful tool for the government, policy makers in education at all levels thereby understanding the contribution of ICT in the socio-economic development of the state. With ICT, social interaction is enhanced, and the economy is developed because modern society and economic development depends largely on the level of ICT development of a country, (Anie, 2011). It is hoped that this research material will enable school managers, government and private individuals and organisation to understand the significance of ICT in today‟s life thereby provide more assistance to Tertiary Institutions (and other non-tertiary schools like primary, secondary schools etc) with the needed ICT resources and other forms of instructional materials. This would help in transforming the whole of educational activities viz production of admission lists, records keeping, scoring and marking, and even and effective administration of Tertiary Institutions in Katsina State.

1.6         Scope of the Study

The research work is on the assessment of the use of ICT in tertiary institutions in Katsina State, and will specifically cover tertiary institutions that are run and funded by Katsina State Government. The research was limited to state tertiary institutions in Katsina State; the information used was obtained from the Department of Higher Education Katsina State and also from the respected tertiary institutions. The lecturers, and students who were in the 2013/2014 academic session, precisely final year level will constitute the scope of the research. Reason for this selection is that the information received from these respondents will be able to give the researcher a picture and view of some of the efforts made by government in ICT development in Tertiary Institutions in Katsina State.

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