Bureaucracy stifles Nigeria’s virtual university strategic participation

The high turnover of education ministers in the country, coupled with the bureaucratic bottlenecks in government agencies appear to be hindering Nigeria’s full involvement in the African Virtual University operations, BusinessDay finding has revealed.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country in 2014 became the latest member of the African Virtual University (AVU), the pan-African intergovernmental organisation mandated to increase access to higher education through online and distance learning.

BusinessDay investigation reveals that Nigeria signed the charter with AVU under the leadership of Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa’I, the then minister of education, bringing the total number of member countries to 18.

Among the benefits of becoming a member of the body is that Nigeria, alongside 21 other countries, will benefit from the AVU’s US$15m fund known as the Multinational Support Project, financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB).

Several months down the line, not much has been heard about the utilisation of the AVU’s US$15m fund, a situation industry observers believe may not be unconnected with the usual bureaucratic bottleneck associated with government especially when it comes to issues concerning education development in the country.

Analysts are of the view that the constant replacement of education ministers by government is not healthy for the sector especially when it comes to seeing through a good policy that will benefit the sector.

Responding to the question of how important a virtual university is for the country, they observed that there is the need to provide an enabling environment for the use of ICT in knowledge sharing, stressing that the deployment of ICT and new technologies including the use of the internet is catalytic of delivery of quality education.

Tolu Odugbemi, vice chancellor, Ondo State University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa, opines that Nigeria universities are yet to fully embrace the universal approach to virtual teaching, research and learning as a result of the slow pace of government policy implementation.

According to the VC, “If we look at education operationalisation globally, there must be a progression in Information Communication Technology (ICT), well equipped laboratories, conducive classrooms to facilitate learning in its ramification. As important is this situation is, it is quite sad that not a few universities in the country do not have equipment.”

Bothered by the inconsistency in policy and the plethora of challenges bedevilling the sector, the university don called for a strategic education agenda, which every minister in this pivotal sector must strictly follow.

“We cannot achieve our vision without human development in training and retraining teachers. We should endeavour to effect partnership with universities abroad for effective research work. We cannot talk of effective government outside education,” he said.

On his part, Ibidapo Obe, a university professor, observed that virtual universities are critical to the development of manpower in the country due to the need to upgrade the skills of both teachers and students using this opportunity.

Obe stated that he could understand why Nigeria, as the country with the largest number of universities in West Africa, is foot-dragging when it comes to embracing advancement in education using information technology.

“The government must not close its eyes to the role that the concept of virtual university plays in educating the populace, they must not fail to rise up to the occasion and address this shortfall,” he said.

He further hinted that if the education sector would move forward and be properly repositioned to play a catalytic role in national development, under this present administration, there is the need to revisit the position of education especially virtual university education only then will Nigeria attained a respectable standing in the comity of nations.

Kelechi Ewuzie