Fred Ezeh, Abuja
National Universities Commission (NUC), said on Wednesday, that Nigeria was not ripe for 100 percent e-learning as was witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown which disrupted academic programmes.
The Commission expressed hope that such services could still be done in Nigeria but not at the immediate because of poor infrastructures, particularly power, ICT and manpower, that could have guaranteed seamless e-learning services.
NUC’s Deputy Executive Secretary (Academics), Dr. Suleiman Ramon-Yusuf, told journalists in Abuja, that NUC was concerned over integrity issues surrounding the operation of the mode of learning as adopted by some institutions during the COVID-19 lockdown.
He said: “We want to ensure that when there is e-learning in place, it would be run in such a way that every student is accounted for, that every student has an e-portfolio that enables everyone to know that it’s the student that registered for a course and it’s that same student that has been doing the assessment test and the examination; and that learning is taking place in an evidence basis.
“We need to articulate the requirements for e-learning, particularly infrastructure. Anybody who is making noise that e-learning must start as soon as possible is either mischievous or ignorant. If he knows what e-learning entails, no one can decree e-learning in Nigeria before the end of this year.
“We need to plan, invest and train people. After putting all the infrastructures in place, we need training of teachers. You must get them to have a mind-set shift.”
He further said the e-learning mode must be based on integrity, verifiable quality as each learner must be accounted for in terms of the competencies that they have acquired so that they can be worthy in character and learning
He, however, disclosed that private open universities will come on board when all stakeholders are satisfied that the country has what it takes to guarantee quality and integrity of the e-learning programme, in order not create a window for the proliferation of worthless certificates under e-learning.