Why Nigerian Institutions Cannot Run Distance Learning

The coronavirus pandemic continues to expose the fragility of various sectors in the country. One such sector is the education sector, especially at the tertiary level. Across the world, colleges and universities have resorted to virtual learning to make up for shutting down campuses as a result of the COVID-19. However, the story is not the same in Nigeria as students in over 381 Tertiary institutions in Nigeria are not academically engaged by their institutions due to inadequate online learning facilities.

Though some administrators believe low investment in technological infrastructure is a major challenge, some academic believes that the major reason for lack of virtual learning engagement of students within this period is due to the industrial strike action by University lecturers prior to the lockdown on 30 march.

A lecturer at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, who chose to be anonymous, said no ASUU member will be motivated to host online classes since none of them have received salary since February despite the fact that the school has what it takes to run online classes.  “Especially since every one of us is acquainted with the 21st-century teaching method, he commented”. 

Investment in education is necessary for wealth production and the creation of a sustainable society. Primarily, the Nigerian education sector has the problems of inadequate funding, brain drain, and infrastructural decay. Besides, there is admission deficit for the thousands of qualified candidates. In view of these, the Nigerian National Policy on Education has affirmed that life long education through open and distance learning shall be the basis of the nation’s education policy.

However, in an interview with the Guardian, Prof. Jegede,  the first vice-chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), he noted the problems confronting distance education in Nigeria include the lack of serious advocacy, unacceptable perception of distance learning as a “poor cousin” of the face-to-face formal learning system, expensive broadband internet connection, unstable communication networks, unreliable power situation, lack of appreciation even by academics with the belief that distance learning requires and ineffectual personal discipline by students in coping with the demands of studying on their own.

In spite of these problems facing the open and distance learning in Nigeria, advances in technology most especially information communication technology and software development provide cost-effective options for online learning through learning management systems that could be adopted by a course lecturer. A learning management system (LMS) is a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting, and delivery of educational courses, training programs, or learning and development programs. Its operation is independent of time, location, pace, and space.

Presently,  Learning Management Systems make up the largest segment of the learning system market. Unlike the face-to-face learning structure where teachers and students meet physically, the LMS is used to support learning by providing a space where materials can be stored and organized, assessments can be given, and students and teachers can interact using blogs, forums, and so on. Colleges and universities use LMS to deliver online courses to off-site students. Educational institutions also use LMS to augment their on-campus resources or expand their student population by targeting users outside of their traditional territories. Some of the benefits of LSM include; Organizes eLearning content in one location, provides unlimited access to eLearning materials, easily tracks learner progress and performance, reduces learning and development costs, reduces learning and development time.

In view of the nation’s present technological and infrastructural challenges, fortunately, there is a variety of different open-source learning management systems that can offer dynamic and flexible e-learning platforms. They include Moodle, Chamilo, Open Edx, Totara learn, Canvas, Forma, Ilias, and Effectus. Some of them like Moodle, Chamilo, and Totara even have friendly online mobile learning support. All of the schools of Harvard University adopt canvas to provide tools for teaching staff to develop and administer course websites.

As the world battles COVID-19, and the internet and power infrastructure in Nigeria are inadequate, a virtual classroom supported by free video calls might be the option. Social learning platforms like Skype, Zoom, Google Hangout, Telegram offers free 60 minutes to unlimited hours to host lectures that typically last for 1-2 hours. The advantage of these kinds of platforms is that they are less complicated and lectures could be recorded and shared with students.

It is therefore imperative for the government to review all policies on, and related to, open and distance learning and follow through a committed process that will ensure that the education sector meets global challenges. While we wait on the government to channel a massive commitment and robust policy direction on open and distance learning for the sector to meet global challenges it is necessary for institutions and 21st-century lecturers to key into open-source online learning.