Using Information and Communicatio n Techn o logy in Secondary Schools in Nigeria: Problems and Prospects

Using Information and Communicatio n Techn o logy in Secondary Schools in Nigeria: Problems and Prospects Samuel Ereyi Aduw a-Ogiegbaen and Ede Okhion Sunda y Iyamu Depa rt m e nt of Ed ucat i n al Psy c hol ogy & C u r r i c ul um st udi es Facu lty of Ed ucatio n , Un iv ersity o f Ben i n , B e ni n C i t y , Ni geri a p h ilb et 2 @ yaho o.co.uk eosi y a m u @uni ben . ed u 

Abstract 

Though it has been rightly said that what is wron g with education cannot be fixed with technolog y ;

 there is no doubt that modern life is dom inated b y t ech nolog y . Ther e is universal recog n ition of the need to use Information and Communication Techno log y (IC T) in e duc ation as we en ter the e r a of g l obal i za ti on where the fr ee flow of inform ation v i a satell it e and the intern et ho ld swa y in globa l info rm ation dissem i n ation o f knowledge. Alr e ad y , Nigeria is on he wrong si de of th e intern ation a l digital d i vide, as it has not made s i gnific a nt effor t to integ r at e I C T into s econd ar y s c hoo l curri culum . A great deal of ins t ru c tional and adm i nistrati ve work in secondar y schoo l in Nigeri a is still carried out m a nuall y . Th is paper, therefore, exam ines the m a jor obstacles m ilitat i ng again s t the us e of ICT in secondar y edu cat ion in Nigeria. It identif ies he h i g h cost of com puter hardwar e an d so ftware; wea k infrastruc t ure; lack of hum an skills and knowledge in IC T, and lack of r e levan t software appropr iate and cultur a lly suitable to Nig e ria as the major stumbling block o the adop tion of ICT in seco ndar y education in Nigeria. Al s o , secondar y schools in Nigeria ar e not given adequ a te funds to provide furn iture, r e lev a nt tex t books a nd adequate classroom let alone being given adequate fund for hi gh-tech eq uipment. At present the co st of subscribing to the Internet is too high for man y of the impoverished seco ndar y schoo ls in Nigeria. In modern society , Nigeria needs ICT to aid teach i ng and learning a nd educational management. ICT is an instrument for the eco nomic and techno logical development in th e 21 st centur y ; therefore, Niger i a canno t afford to be on the wro ng side of t h e di g i ta l di v i de. Keyw or ds Inf o r m atio n a nd Co mmun i cati on Techn o lo gy , C y ber Ed ucati on, Vi r t ual Lea r ni ng E n vir o n m e n t, I n te rn et Gate way , Nige ria ’ s T e lecommunic a tion

Introduction
The r o l e o f t e chn o l o gy i n t e achi n g an d l e a r ni ng i s rapi dl y becom i ng o n e o f t h e m o st im port a nt an d wi del y di scuss e d i ssu es i n cont em pora r y educat i o n p o l i c y (R osen an d W e l l , 19 95; an d Thi e re r, 2 0 0 0 ) . M o st expert s i n t h e fi el d of e d ucat i o n a g ree d t h at , w h en p r ope rl y us ed , i n fo rm ati on a n d com m uni cat i on t e c h n o l o gy hol d great prom ise to i m prove teaching and lear ni ng in addition to sha p ing workfor ce opport uni ties. Poole (1996) ha s in d i cated t h at co m p u t er illite racy is n o w reg a rd ed as th e n e w illiteracy. Th is h a s actually g i n g e red a n e w an d strong desi re to equip sc hools with c o m puter facilities and qua lified pe rsonal nece ssa ry to produce t echn o l o gi cal l y pr ofi c i e nt a n d ef fi ci ent st ude nt s i n de ve lo p e d co un tries of th e wo rl d. Th ere is no d oub t th at co m p u t er can aid th e in stru ctio n a l p r o cess an d facilitate stu d e n t s’ learn i n g . Man y studies h a v e foun d po sitiv e ef f ect asso ciated w ith techno l o g y ai d e d in stru ctio n ( B u r n e tt, 199 4, an d Fitzg e r a l d an d W a r n er , 19 96) . In t h e m o re a dva nce d i n du s t ri al i zed nat i o ns, t h e r e has been a st a gge r i ng am ount of researc h an d pu bl i cat i on related to ICT use for educational pur pose s during the past decade. T oda y, nearly eve r y one i n the i n dustrialized nations gaine d access to ICT and the purc hase of com put er s for school use in suc h nat i ons as the United States has bee n i n c r e a si ng i n suc h a pace t h at i s di ffi c u l t t o kee p t r ac k o f ho w m a ny com put er m achi n es a r e n o w i n A m er ican schoo ls (H arp e r, 19 87) . Becker (1 986 ) r e por ted a com p rehe ns ive survey of the instructiona l uses of com put ers i n Uni t e d St at es pu bl i c an d n o n - p u b l i c sch ool s . T h e re p o rt s u gge st ed t h at o v e r one m i l l i on com put er s were in Am erican elem entar y and seconda r y schools a nd that m o re than fifteen m illion st ude nts us ed them during 1985. T h e re port als o says half -a-m illion teache r us ed c o m puters during he sam e peri od and t h at hal f of U.S . seco n d ar y scho ol s (a b out 16 ,5 0 0 sc ho ol s) o w ne d 15 or m o re c o m put ers. Al s o , ove r 75 0 0 el em ent a ry sch ool s o w ne d 1 5 or m o re c o m put ers. It h a s bee n al m o st t w o deca de si nce t h e fi gu r e s q u o t e d ab o v e were rel eased. T h ere i s n o do u b t t h at t hose fi g u r es w oul d have increased trem endously since then. Be rgheim a n d Chi n (1 9 8 4 ) rep o r t e d t h at t h e US go ve rnm e nt m a de avai l a bl e $5 2 9 m i l l i on t o sch ool s o u t of w h i c h 60 t o 70 perce n t was spe n t on com put er edu c at i on. H o weve r, i n t h e US a d m i ni st rat i on’s fi scal 200 1 b u d g et , m o re t h an $ 9 0 0 m i ll i on wa s ea rm arked fo r e d ucat i ona l technologies (Hess & Leal, 2001) 104 I SSN 1436-4522 (online ) and 1176-3647 (print). © I n te rnational F o rum o f Educational Tec hnolo g y & Soci et y ( I FETS). T h e authors a nd the f o r u m jointl y r e ta in th e c o p y r i g h t o f the a r tic le s. Pe r mission to ma ke dig i t a l or har d c opi es o f pa rt or all of this work for p e rsonal or cl assroom use i s g r anted without f ee pro v ided that copie s are not made or distributed for profit or c o mme r c i a l a dva ntag e a nd tha t c o p i e s be a r the f u ll c ita tion on the f i r s t pa g e . Cop y r i g h ts for components of this work owned b y others than I F ETS must be honoured. Abstr actin g with c r edit is permitted. To cop y ot herwise, to republish, to post on ser v ers, or to r e distribute to lists, requires prior specific pe rmission and/or a fe e. Request pe r missions from the editors at ki nshuk@ieee.or g . In Britain , t h e sto r y is th e sa m e as th e wid e r av ailab ility o f co m p u t ers in scho o l s was m a d e p o s sib l e th ro ugh g o v e rn m e n t fun d i n g larg ely th rou g h th e Local Ed u cation Au t h orities (LEA). Vissch e r et al (2 0 03) rep o rted th at fo llowing th e Edu catio n Refo rm Act in 1 9 8 8 , th e cen tral g o v e rn m e n t mad e av ailab l e $3 25 m i llio n , ov er tim e, to pr om ot e t h e us e of com put ers i n sc ho ol ad m i ni st rat i on an d m a nagem e nt. Just as t h e U n i t e d St at es a n d B r i t a i n have bee n bu d g et i ng h u g e su m of m oney fo r cy ber ed uca t i o n , s o ha ve ot h e r de vel o pe d n a t i ons been d o i ng sam e . Eve n m a ny de veloping nations have em braced ICT. In Africa, c once r ted efforts ha ve been m a de by m a ny g o v e rn m e n t s to i n itiate In tern et co nn ectiv ity and tec hno lo g y train i ng prog ram s . Su ch program s lin k scho o l s aroun d th e world t h at in order to im p r o v e ed u cation , en han ce cu ltu ral u n d e rstand ing an d d e v e l o p sk ills th at y out h s nee d fo r securi n g jo bs i n t h e 21 st cen t u ry . I n U g an d a , an i n t e rc on n ect i v i t y prog ra m m e kno w n as “Uga nda Sch ool Net ” i s de di cat ed t o e x t e n d i n g e duc at i onal t ech nol ogy t h r o u g h o u t Uga n da (C a r l s on & Fi rp o, 2 0 0 1 ) . I n Sene gal, teac hers a n d stude n ts are usi n g com puters exte ns i v el y as i n fo rm at i on t ool s. T h ese program s in African cou n t r i e s m e nt i one d a r e s u p p o rt e d by t h ei r g ove r n m e nt t h ro ug h t h e m i ni st ri es of E ducat i o n. In a rap i d l y ch ang i ng wo rld o f g l o b a l m a rk et co m p etitio n , au to m a tio n , and in creasing dem o cratizat io n , b a sic education is necessary for a n indi vidual to have the ca pa city a nd capabilit y to access and a pply inform at ion. Su ch ab ility and cap ab ility mu st find b eari n g in info rm atio n and co mm u n i catio n techn o l o g y in t h e g l obal v illag e . The Ec onom ic Commission for Africa has i ndicated t h at the ability to access and effectively utilize in form at ion i s no l o nge r a l u x u ry b u t a n ecessi t y for de vel o pm ent . Un fo rt u n at el y , m a ny devel opi n g co unt ri es, es peci al l y i n Africa, a r e alre ady on t h e wrong side of the di gi t a l di vi de i n t h e ed ucat i o n a l use of IC T . Why does Nigeria need I C T? The q u est i o n o f why Ni ge ri a need s i n f o rm ati on an d c o m m uni cat i o n t e c h nol ogy m a y appear t o o si m p l i s t i c and u n n ecessary. Howev e r, th e p o litical co nd itio n s i n Ni g e ria fo r th e p a st thirty years leav e n o ro o m fo r co n tinu ity . Ove r the years, political power i n Ni ge ria has bee n use d to e n tre n c h me diocrity, corruption i n high places, misplace pri o rity, and cons umer culture . T h e direct e ffec t of these is a battere d ec onom y and a n e ducational syste m that is decaying by the day. In 1988, in an atte m p t to kee p pace wi th devel opm ent in co m puter e ducation, Ni ge ri a enact e d a Pol i c y o n C o m put er E d u cat i on. Acc o r d i ng t o Oke b uk ol a ( 1 99 7) . Th e p l an was to estab lish p ilo t scho o l s and th ereaf ter d i ffuse th e in nov atio n, first to all secon d a ry sch ool s an d t h en t o t h e Pri m ary scho ol s. U n f o rt unat e l y , b e y o n d t h e di st r i but i o n an d i n s t al l a t i on of com put ers i n t h e Fe deral G o ver n m e nt C o l l eges, t h e pr o j ect di d n o t re al l y t a ke off t h e g r o u n d (P. 1 6 ) . Oke b uk ol a ( 1 9 9 7 ) c oncl ude d t h at com put er i s n o t pa rt of cl assro o m t echn o l o gy i n ove r 9 0 % of p ubl i c s c ho ol s i n Nig e ria. Thu s th e ch alkbo ard an d tex t b ook s co n tinu e to d o min a te classro o m ac tiv ities i n m o st seco n d ary sch o o l s i n Ni ge ri a. I f a cou n t r y s u ch as U g a n da whi c h ha s l e ss t h an a -fi ft h of Ni ge ri a’s reso u r ces, i s no w usi n g i n f o rm at i on an d c o m m uni cat ion t ech nol ogy t o hel p sec o n d ary sc h ool s s t ude nt s t o bec o m e bet t e r i n f o rm at i on users , why i s Ni ge ri a l a ggi n g be hi n d ? T h e answ er i s si m p ly mis m anagement of the hug e res o urces of the country an d in ab ility o f po litical lead ers to prioritize Nig e ria’s d e v e lo p m en tal n e ed s. Th ere is no do ub t t h at in t h e cu rren t h a rsh econo m i c co m p etitio n , th e p r iv ate secto r i n Nig e ria h a s em b r aced ICT to stay afl o at. Th e b a nk in g sector, insurance , m a nufacturing i n dust r ies a n d multinational c o m p anies in the oil sector ha ve em braced multi m e dia tech no log y to b r i n g inn o v a tive so l u tio n s to t h eir cu rren t challen g e s. If Nige rian wa nts to be a m a j o r player in t h e global m a rke t place of i d ea s and pre p a r e her citizens for the new envi ronm ent of today and the fut u re, the c o untry s h ould e m brace ICT for t h e following reas ons: ICT as aids to teaching a n d leaning; ICT a s a tool for managem e nt; ICT as instru m e nt for economic developm ent; ICT as i n st rum e nt o f h i gh t e c h n o l ogi cal devel o pm ent , a n d IC T as a co urse o f st u d y . ICT as ai ds to te achi n g and l e arni ng Th e im p o r tan c e o f ICT is quite ev id ence from the educati onal pers pective. T h o u gh t h e chal k boa rd , t e xt b o o k s , radi o/ t e l e vi si o n a n d fi lm hav e bee n use d f o r e ducat i o nal p u r p ose o v er t h e y ears, n o n e h a s q u i t e i m pacted o n t h e ed u cation a l p r o cess lik e th e co m p u t er. Wh ile telev i sio n an d film i m p a c t o n l y o n th e au d i o v i su al facu lties of users , t h e com put e r i s capabl e of act i v at i n g t h e senses o f si ght , hea r i n g and t o uc h of t h e user s. IC T has t h e capaci t y t o pr ovi de hi ghe r i n t e ract i v e pot e n t i a l for user s t o devel op t h ei r i ndi vi du al , i n t e l l ect ual and c r eat i v e ab ility. Th e m a in p u rpo s e of ICT “con s ists ju st i n th e d e v e lop m en t o f h u m an m e n t al resou r ces, which allow people to bot h success f ully apply th e existing knowledge and produce ne w knowledge” (Sha vinina , 2001,P.70). 105 The col l ect i v e and ri gi d nat u r e of l earni ng a nd t h e passi ve na t u re of t h e l e arni ng ass o ci at ed wi t h t h e use of ra di o, t e l e vi si on an d fi lm do not cont ri b u t e any i nno vat i v e c h an ges t o t r a d i t i onal m e t hod s i n educat i o n sy st em . In fo rm at i on and com m uni cat ion t ech n o l o gi e s are bei n g use d in th e d e v e lop e d world for in stru ction a l fun c tio ns. Today, com p uters pe rform a host of functi ons in teachi n g and learning as m a ny nations are a d ding com puter literacy, read i n g an d writin g l iteracy as sk ill s stud en ts will n e ed for su cceed ing i n a tech no log i cally dev e lop e d wo rl d (T hom as, 1 9 8 7 ) . At t h e i n st ruct i o nal l e vel , com put e r s are use d by pu pi l s t o l ear n rea d i n g, m a them ati c s, so cial stud ies, art, m u sic, simu latio n and h e alth practices. In ed u cation a l m u lti med i a a p p lication Sh av in in a (199 7) asserted that t oday ’ s lear ni n g co nt ent s are dom ai n- sp ecif i c pr oducts an d th at they d o m in ate t h e wo r l d m a r k et. A c co rd ing to Sh av in in a ( 199 7) , d o m ai n - sp ecif i c ed u cation a l mu lti m e d i a is d i rected to know ledg e acq u i si ti o n sk ills d e velo p m en t in the lan g u a g e art s , h i story, p h y sics, literatu re, b i o l og y and so o n . There is no doubt that ICT provi des product i ve teaching a nd le a r ni ng i n order t o inc r ea se pe ople’s cre a tive and in tellectu a l r e so ur ces esp ecially in to d a y’ s in fo r m atio n society. Th ro ugh th e sim u ltan e o u s use o f aud i o , tex t , m u l tico l o r im a g es, grap h i cs, m o t i o n , ICT g i v e s am p l e and ex cep tion a l op portun ities to th e st ud en ts to d e v e lop cap acities fo r hig h qu ality learn i ng an d to i n crease th ei r ab ility to in no vate. Ni ge ri a can n o t aff o r d t o l a g behi nd i n usi n g m u l t i m e di a to raise th e i n tellectu a l an d creativ e resou r ces of h e r citizen s. Th is is p a rticu l arly i m p o r tan t for ch ild re n whose adu lth ood will b l o s so m i n a cyb e r environ m en t ent i r el y di f f ere n t f r om t h at o f t h e p r ese n t ( S h a vi ni na , 19 9 7 ) . Ni ge ri an chi l d ren nee d t o be t a ug ht by ra di cal l y new educat i o nal pr og ram m e and vari et y o f e d u c at i onal c ont e n t s wi t h m u l t i m e di a pl ay i n g ke y rol e . ICT as tool for educ ati o nal management It is n o t u n c ommo n to fin d th at m a n y esta b lish m en ts in Nig e ria, in cludin g edu cation a l in stitu tio n s , still k eep records in files an d tuck ed th em away in fillin g cab in et s wh ere th ey accu m u late d u s t. Man y o f th ese files are oft e n eat en u p by ro de nt s and coc k r o a c hes t h us ren d eri ng t h em irret r i e vabl e. A g r eat de al of r out i n e ad m i n i strativ e wo rk i n go vern m e n t establish m en t is still d o n e m a n u a lly with t h e state and t h e Fed e ral g o v e rn m e n t sho w i n g little o r n o in terest in em b r acin g IC T. Th e official ad m i n i strativ e d r udg ery in govern m e n t o f fices an d edu catio n in stitutio n s can b e better m a n a g e d th rou g h ICT. Edu cation a l ad m i n i strativ e fu n c tion s in clu d e a wi d e v a riety o f activ ities su ch as ed u cation a l go vern an ce, su p e rv ision , supp ort serv ices, infrastru cture, fin a n ce, b udg etin g , accou n ting , p e rson n e l selectio n and train i n g syste m m o n ito rin g and ev al u a tion , facilities pr oc urem ent and m a nagem e nt , eq ui pm ent m a i n t e nan ce, res earch , a n d so o n (Th o m a s, 1 9 8 7 ) . In m o st Nig e ria scho o l s, officials still g o th ro ugh th e lab o riou s ex ercise of m a n u a lly reg i steri n g stu d e n t s, m a i n t a i n i ng re cor d s of p u p i l , per f o rm ance, keepi n g i n vent ory l i s t o f s u p p l i e s, doi ng c o st acc ou nt i n g , pay i n g b ills, p r in ti n g repo rts an d d r awing arch itectu r al d e si g n s . Th e hug e m a n - hou r sp end on th ese ex erci ses can be drast i cal l y red u ced wi t h IC T t o en ha nce o v e ral l m a nagem e nt p r oce d ure . Th om as (19 8 7 ) , sai d t h at “C om put ers b r i n g great sp eed and accu r acy to each o f these task s, al o n g with t h e conv en ien ce o f st o r i n g larg e q u an tities o f in fo rm atio n on ‘sm a ll d i sk s or tap e s’ (P.5 ). Th e prev ailing co nd itio n i n sch o o l m a n a g e men t in Nig e ri a is d i sh earten ing an d d i scou rag i n g . Th e co un try see m s to b e li v i ng in p r eh istoric ti mes in th e edu c atio n a l m a n a g e men t wh ile even d e v e l o p i n g co un tries i n Africa su ch as So ut h A fri c a , Ke ny a, U g a nda an d Tanza n i a are fa r a h e a d of Ni geri a i n IC T ap pl i cat i ons. Des p i t e i t s hu ge m a terial resources and population e n dowm e nt, Ni geria ca nnot be c o unted am ong prog re ssive nations using ICT i n ed ucat i o nal m a nagem e nt , as t ech nol ogy h a s bec o m e a cr i t i cal t ool fo r a c hi evi n g succe ss i n e d ucat i o n . ICT as ins t rument of ec onomic devel o pm ent The p r esent g ove r n m e nt i n Ni ge ri a i s pu rs ui n g t h e dere g u l a t i o n o f t h e econ o m y wi t h a passi o n t h at has ne ve r been see n in the count ry. It i s st ri vi n g fo r a pri v at e sect o r dri v en eco n o m y hence i t i s se l l i ng i t s sha r es i n m a ny com p ani e s so t h at t h ey ca n f u l l y be m a nage d by t h e pri v ate sector. M o st of these com p anies in whic h go ve rnm e nt ho l d m a jori t y shares ha ve bee n m i sm anaged ove r the years that they ha ve becom e a huge burde n and a fi na nci a l drai n- pi pe t o g ove r n m e nt , he nce dere g u l a t i on i n t h e c o unt r y t oday . The i m port a nc e of IC T i n Ni geri a st r o n g l y m a ni fest s i t s elf fr om an econ o m i c st andp oi nt . To day , as a resul t of g l ob alizatio n , i n du strial co m p etitio n is in creasin g l y h a rsh an d co m p an ies m u st n o t o n l y co m e u p with in nov ativ e 106 pr o duct s a nd s e rvi ces t o t h e gl o b al m a rket but m u st do s o with unprec edente d sp e e d. For t h e com p anies to su rv iv e, th ey need in tellectu a l and cr eative e m ployees who’s “ n ovel ideas are t o a ce rtain e x tend a gua r antee of com p anies’ existence” (Shavinina 20 01, P.65). Contem pora r y society stro ngly nee d s highly able minds that coul d p r o d u ct i v el y sol v e m a ny econ o m i c probl em s of t o da y . Suc h hi g h l y abl e m i nds are nu rt u r ed by a cou n t r y ’ s ed u cation a l in stitu tio n s . Nig e ria lag s con s id erab ly b e h i nd oth e rs in th e d e v e lop m en t o f small an d m e d i u m scale enterprises, which are t h e mainstay of m odern ec onom y a nd s o ciety. Mode rn society des p erately ne eds hi ghly abl e ci t i zens w ho ca n bri ng i n no vat i v e s o l u t i ons t o i t s cu rre nt chal l e n g es a nd at t h e sam e t i m e prod uce n e w i d eas for on go ing so cio-econo m i c an d po litical ad v a n cem en t (Sh a v i n i n a , 199 7). Ni g e ria can on ly b e p a rt o f su ch m odern society if ICT fa cilit ies are de pl oyed to all sect ors of the ec onomy. Because, t h e c o untry is a l ready o n t h e w r on g si de of t h e di gi t a l di vi de, i t m u st l a y t h e p r ope r fo un dat i o n fo r I C T use i n t h e e ducat i o n sect o r . ICT as to ol f o r hi gher tec h n o l o gi cal de vel o pmen t In t o day ’ s w o rl d, n o t o n l y are we s u r r o u n d ed by t e c h n o l o gy , b u t ou r p r i m ary m eans of re achi n g ot he rs i n far a n d near places a r e m e diated by technolo gy. According to Elluh (1989), “te c hn ology is progressi vely effacing t h e t w o p r evi o us envi ro nm ent s : nat u re a nd s o ci et y ” (p. 1 3 4 ) . The e nvi ro n m ent El l uh t a lked a b o u t i s that whi c h en ab les u s to li v e , sets us in dan g e r and it is i mmed i ate to us and m e diates all else. He as serted t h at m odern m a n can no t liv e wi th ou t ou r g a dgets. Th is is wh at m a k e s h u man su bserv i en t to tech no l o g y rath er th at tech no log y bei n g s u bser vi ent t o h u m a ni ty . There i s n o d o ubt t h at one o f t o day ’ s real i t i e s i s an ext r e m el y fast deve l opm ent of hi g h -t ec hn ol o g y . Thi s ha s resul t e d i n a h uge c h a nge of t h e i ndi vi d u al ’ s l i f e i n bu si ne ss an d p r i v at e set t i ngs. T h ere i s st ron g ne ed t o kn o w and use m oder n t ech n o l o gy i n ou r s o ci al life, the ec onom y, the busi ness and education. Ne w a n d sophisticated b r eak t hroug hs in h i gh tech no l o g y en cou r ag e co m p an ies to in trodu ce techn o l o g i cal in nov atio ns rap i d l y in to th eir busi n ess p r act i ces. T h e U n i t e d St at es S p ace Pr og ram m e h a s be nefi t e d i m m e nsel y fro m rapi d de vel opm ent i n hi g h -t ec h a n d t o d a y ’ s i n f o r m at i on an d c o m m uni cat i on t ech nol ogy . I n m a ny part s of t h e de vel o ped w o rl d , cellu lar, satelli te, an d wireless tech no log i es co m b in ed wi t h i nno vat i v e bu si ness p r act i ces are be gi n n i n g t o m a ke u p for th e sho r tco m in g s of the trad itio n a l wi re lin e tech no lo g i es. Nig e ria was in tro d u c ed to cellu lar tech no log i es a little o v e r t w o years ago and t h is h a s revo lu tion i zed th e co mm u n i catio n i n du stry in th e co un t r y, thou gh maj o rities o f Nig e rian s are yet to b e n e f it from th e serv ices d u e to h i gh co st. If Nige ria m u st be part of de veloped world in the nea r fut u re , it m u st em brace technology a n d disca r d som e of t h e ol d habi t s and pers pect i v es and ret o ol com p l e t e l y . Th ere is need for the count ry to re-strategize and expand its v i sio n so as to cop e with t h e challenges of a technol ogica l society. ICT as a c o ur se o f s t ud y The m o st chall e ngi ng as pect of the po st-industrial era is how to m eet the dem a nd of t h e i n f o rm at i on s o ci et y t h at m odern m a n i s t r y i ng t o b u i l d . The r o l e o f educat i o n i n de vel o pi n g m odern s o ci et y cann o t be o v er em phasi zed . I n fact, society and education ar e highly interdepende nt. As s o ciety change s , the educational syste m has to cha n ge accordingly (Westera a n d Sloep, 2001). T oday em ployers of labour a r e in sea r ch of gra d uates with re quisite k nowledg e, skill an d train i ng th at wo u l d h e lp to so lv e p r ob lem s th at d o no t yet ex ist to d a y. In recen t years t h o u sa nds of u n i v e r si t y grad u a t e s fou n d i t di ffi cul t t o secu r e go od pay i ng jo bs . Thi s has been due t o t h e fact t h at there are no jobs out there as m a ny go ve rnm e nt est a bl i s hm ent s and p r i v ate com p ani e s are eve n re trenc h ing workers as a re sult of hard times bei n g ex peri enced by t h e e c on om y . Th ou g h t h e Ni geri a n g o v er n m ent has o p en ed i t s do o r s t o fo rei g n i n vest ors a n d m a ny of t h em are co m i ng i n , Ni ge ri an g r ad u a t e s are not pr ope rl y t r ai ned fo r t h e new po si t i ons t h at are ope ni n g u p i n t h e ne w com p ani e s bei n g established. There is a high dem a nd fo r highly skilled and technol ogically tr ained workers. Unfortunately, m o st Ni ge ri an g r ad u a t e s acqui re d o v er d o se o f t h e o ret i cal kn o w l e dge , w h i c h d o e s not m a t c h wel l wi t h t h e dem a nds o f workplace pra c tice. Mode rn com p anies ne e d em ployees that are proactive, e n terprising, responsible and self- rel i a nt p r o f essi onal . Acc o rdi n g t o W a l t o n ( 1 99 5 ) , m oder n e m pl oy ees repre s ent t h e b u si ne ss’ hum an ca pi t a l . Nige ria nee d s to re place the traditional pe dagogical prac ti ces that still unde rpi n its e ducational syst e m . In a r e po r t o f th e W o r l d Bank sp on so r e d r e sear ch stud y on t h e state of t h e N i g e r i an gr adu a te, D a b a len an d On i (2001) asserte d that Ni geria n Uni v ersity gra duates of t h e past decade a r e poorly tr ained and unproductive on the job. T h e report indicted Ni gerian Un i v ersi ty g r adu a tes as d e ficien t in mastery o f th e En g lish langu ag e and requ isite techn i cal sk ills. Su ch d e v e lop m en t calls for a reth i n k i ng o f th e ob jectiv es edu catio n shou ld pu rsu e . 107 qual i f i e d com put e r so ft wa re desi g n ers i n t h e co unt ry . To o v e r com e t h i s , pe opl e need t o be t r ai ned i n in stru ction a l desig n . Limited acces s to the I n ternet In Nige ria the r e are few Int e rnet pr ovi d e rs th at p r ov id e In tern et g a teway serv ices to Nig e rian s. Su ch In tern et pr o v i d er s are m a de u p of Ni ge ri ans w h o are i n part ne rshi p wi t h fo r e i gn i n f o rm at ion an d c o m m uni cat i o n com p ani e s. M a ny of t h ese co m p ani e s pro v i d e p o o r se rvi c e s t o cust om ers wh o are oft e n expl oi t e d an d def r au de d. The few reputa ble com p anies, whic h re nder reliable service s , cha r ged high fees thus lim iting acces s to t h e use of the Inte rnet. T h e greatest tech no log i cal ch allen g e in Nig e ria is h o w to estab lish reliab l e co st effecti v e In tern et connectivity. In a c o unt ry where only a b out 0.6% of th e populace has home pers onal c o m puters, the fe w relia ble Int e r n et p r o v i d ers w ho have i nve st ed h u g e sum of m oney in t h e b u si nes s have a ve ry sm al l cl i e nt el e. They have to ch arg e h i gh fees in ord e r to reco up th eir in v e stm e n t in reason ab le ti me. Nig e ria h a s ab ou t 500 ,0 00 In tern ets subscri b ers . Seco nda ry sc h ool s i n Ni ge ri a are not gi ve n adeq uat e fu n d s t o p r ovi de f u r n i t u re , re q u i s i t e b o o k s, l a b o ra t o ri es a n d ad equ a te classr oo m s le t alo n e b e in g g i v e n ad equ a te f unds f o r h i gh - t ech equ i p m en t ( c o m p u t er s) and I n ter n et co nn ectiv ity. Agai n, due t o t h e l ack o f ad equat e el ect ri c i t y suppl y , esp eci al l y i n ru ral areas i n Ni ge ri a, seco n d ary scho ol s located in thos e areas ha ve no access to the Internet and a r e pe rpet ually isol ated and est r ange d from the world’s i n f o rm at i on su per h i g h w ay . N i geri a i n l a g g i n g be hi n d ot he r Af ri can c o u n t r i e s suc h as U g a nda , Se negal a nd So ut h Af ri ca w ho are al ready hel p i n g sec o n d ary sc ho ol st u d e n t s i n t h ose c o u n t r i e s t o bec o m e bet t e r i n f o rm at ion use r s. All In tern et serv ice pro v i d e rs in Ni geria a r e base d in the urban areas . For m a ny y ears, t h e Ni geri a n go ve rnm e nt h a d a m ono p o l i s t i c cont r o l o f t e l ecom servi ce, w h i c h do es not al l o w for th e co m p et itiv e env i ron m en ts th at red u c e telep hon y rates. Paltridg e (1 996 ) asserted th at th e p e n e t r atio n o f In tern et ho sts is fiv e ti m e s g r eater th an in m o n opo ly markets and that Inte rnet access in cou n tries with teleco mm u n i ca tio n co m p etiti o n enjo yed a g r o w t h rate fiv e tim es h i g h e r th an t h e m o n opo ly env i ron m en ts. All t h at m a y chan ge fo r Ni ge ri a no w as t h e go v e rnm e nt ha d i n vi t e d pri v at e p a rt i c i p at i o n i n t h e t e l ecom i ndust r y a n d man y in v e stors are alread y in th e Nig e ria mark ets bu t it will tak e m a n y years to kno w t h eir fu ll im p act o n Nige ria education system . Prospec t s There are num ero u s a n d g o o d pr os pect s fo r t h e u s e of I C T i n t eac hi n g a n d l ear ni n g i n sec o nda ry sch ool s i n Nige ria. The followi ng m a jor areas s u gg est th e rang e of ap p licatio ns th at com puter can serve teac hers a n d learners in Nigeria. First, c o m put er can enha nce educat ional efficienc y . The efficiency in teaching vari ou s subjects c o uld be im proved. For insta n ce, many seconda ry school teac hers a r e alrea d y teaching la rge classes of stude nts. In this situation, st ude nts no longer receive the m u ch desi re d individual a ssistance. Furt herm ore, English langua g e is taught a n d learne d a s a second la ngua ge in Nige ria a nd m a ny teachers of E n glish are wea k . It is possible to use care f ully pre p are d com puter pr ogram s to ensure that learners are acc urately and syste m at ically in stru cted . Also , th e co m p u t er can enh a n ce p r ob lem - so lv ing sk ills o f th e l earn e rs b y focu ssing o n th in k i n g sk ills esp ecially in su bj ect su ch as math e m atics. Second, com puters ca n se rve adm i nistra tive functions. The y can re place the labo ri ous exercise of filing pape rs in filing ca binets and s h elves whe r e rec o rds accum u late dus t ove r a long peri od of tim e . Anot her a d ministrative application of the com puters is thei r use for budget planning, accounting for expenditure, writin g cor r es po n d enc e s and re po rt s, assi gni n g students to classes, reporting studen ts’ pr ogr ess an d testin g st ud en ts and scori n g t e st s whi c h hel p t o red u ce pa per wo rk . It i s t r u e that m a ny of the tas k s a b ove a r e not e ffe ctively and ef f i cien tly done in secon d a r y scho o l s i n N i ger i a. Thi r d, com put ers can b e use d f o r i n di vi dua l i zed l earni n g i n seco nda ry scho ol s i n Ni ge ri a. D u e t o l a r g e cl asses and differe n ces in indi vidual learni ng style a nd pace, m i crocom puters will enab le t h e student to progres s at his or her own pace a nd receive c o ntinual eval uati on feedbac k and corrections for e rrors m a de. In this way, com puters al l o w t h e deve l opm ent of pa r t ner-l i k e i n t e ra ct i v e an d i ndi v i dual i zed rel a t i ons wi t h t h e u s er. C o m put ers pl ay t h e ro le o f th e t u tor an d presen t th e lean er with a va ri et y of co nt ent s a n d sy m bol i c m odes. 110 Fo urt h , com p u t ers can cha n g e curr ent pe da go gi cal pract i c es i n seco nda r y scho ol s i n N i geri a, w h i c h depe n d ed heavily on the traditi onal lec t ure m e thod. It is unive rsally accepte d tha t com puters allow m o re independe n t ex p l o r ation , m o re p e rson ally tailo red activ ities, m o re tea m work, an d m o re sig n i fican tly, less d i d actic in stru ctio n. The role of the teacher, the r efore, cha n ges from inform ation dis p ense r to that of inform at ion m a na ger, from au tho r itativ e so ur ce o f inf o rmatio n to a gu i d e o f self -pr opelled exp l or atio n ( S m ith , 1989 ). Fifth , co m p u t ers will offer t h e Ni g e ria teach e r im p r ov emen t in th e tech n i q u e s of research. Th e cum b erso me exerci se of s e a r chi ng by ha n d t h ro u gh t h e l i b rary ’s ca r d cat al og or peri odi cal i n de xes can be m a de easi e r by typing fe w ke y worlds perti n ent to the res earch topic in to a com puter and the researcher ca n recei ve extensive list o f related so urces of articl e s in bo ok s a n d jo u r nal s i n ju st a m a tt er of m i nut es. Conclusion There is no doubt that teachers a nd st ude nts in seco nda ry schools in Nige ria will have incre d ible resources available if they have acces s to the Internet. By integrating inform atio n and comm unication technology into seconda ry school c u rricul um, a fundam en tal shift in the way teach er teac hes a nd st udents learn will be evol ved. Ho we ver , t o i n t e grat e c o m put er i n t o t eac hi n g a n d l ear ni n g i n Ni geri a, t h e r e m u st be pr op er a n d ade q uat e f u n d i n g and fi na nci ng of e d ucat i o n. There ha s bee n a st ea dy decl i n e i n g ove rn m e nt ’s b u dget a ry al l o cat i o n t o ed ucat i o n o v e r the p a st fiv e years, g e ttin g to all tim e lo w o f less than 1 % in th e 2 003 fed e ral go v e rn m e n t b u d g e t. The g r eatest ch allen g e to th e state and fed e ral g o v e rn m e n t is to en su re th at bu dg et cu ts resu ltin g fro m d w i n d lin g reve nue and the need to satisfy other sectors of the economy do not adve rsely effect education. Ni geria needs to i nvest heavi l y i n t h e I n t e r n et busi n ess a n d creat e e n abl i ng e nvi ro nm ent f o r sec o nd ary sch ool st u d ent s t o p a rticip ate in do wn lo ad ing availab l e and u s efu l kn owledg e in th e In tern et. S econd ar y scho o l stud en ts i n N i g e r i a are al rea d y fa rt her be hi n d t h ei r peers i n de vel ope d c o unt ri es, t h u s wi de ni n g t h e gl obal di gi t a l di vi de . N i g e ria sh ou ld j o in t h e Wo rl d Link s of D e v e lop m en t (Wo rLd), a prog ra m in itia ted b y th e W o rld Ban k in 1 997. The pr og ram has be en est a bl i s hi n g c o m put er l a b o rat o ri es and b r i n gi ng Int e rnet c o nnect i v i t y t o seco nda ry scho o l s i n d e velo p i ng cou n t ries aroun d th e world. It is al so trai n i ng teach e rs in t h ese co un tries t o acqu ire sk ills necessa ry to i n tegrate information an d co m m uni cat i on t echn o l o gy i n t o t h eir classroom practices. The WorL d p r og r a m lin k s second ar y sch o o l s aro und th e wo r l d i n o r d e r to i m p r o v e edu c atio n , enh a n c e cu ltur a l u n d e rstand ing , an d d e v e l o p requ isite sk ills in yo u t h wh ich will p r ep are th em fo r th e j o b m a rk ets in th e 21 st cent u ry . A fri c a n c o u n t r i e s s u ch as Uga n d a , Se negal a n d Zi m b abwe a r e al rea d y be n e fi t i ng fr om the Wo rL d program and it has im proved the accessi bility and qua lity of basic e ducation in those c o untries. 
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