Information Technology, Distance Learning and Higher Education in Nigeria: A New Order

Abstract

Learning in the past had substantially been anchored to classroom setting arrangement where both lecturers and students had physical interactions. Inadequacy in the available space for those yearning for higher education brought about the establishment of distance learning education. Distance learning education which provides access to education to students not accommodated by conventional universities was sited in places outside the catchment areas of the institution that owned them. Although, online teaching was visible in some of the centres, their effectiveness had been undermined with series of problems militating against effective teaching. However, a new twist emerged when information technology was deployed in delivering lectures and notes to students during the recent Covid-19 pandemic as a result of the closure of many institutions for several months. During the shutdown, examinations and convocations were held online by some institutions of higher learning which signals a new order in education delivery. Therefore, this paper examined the importance of information technology in the education delivery in Nigeria and realized that efforts in curtailing Covid-19 pandemic have a great impact on the mode of teaching and made information technology much more relevant in imparting knowledge to students. This is a new order in the world and Nigeria, a developing country, should gear towards leveraging on it. The study recommends that more resources should be devoted to information technology, the existing curriculum should undergo a review to reflect changes in learning mode and electricity power generation and supply should be improved upon.