A Critical Overview of the Place of ICT in Education Today: A Nigerian Perspective

Abstract

Education has been a core component of societies beginning from the Garden of Eden where God had evening sessions with Adam and Eve, during which knowledge and information were imparted to them. However, Education has taken new shapes and forms in the last 100 years. The education that was brought into Nigeria by the colonialists was the "Brick and Mortar, Chalk and Blackboard” (BMCB) variety. They dispensed knowledge in thatched roof huts, which eventually gave way to the modern buildings we have today.

In most parts of Africa, the style of teaching and the classroom are still much the same as they have been since Western education was introduced into the country. The teacher stands before the students and dispenses the curriculum content in a didactic style, with little time for feedback. ICT has changed all that. The classroom and teacher retain their place but perform different roles. Students are introduced to online resource materials which they can access and study at their own time and pace. The classroom becomes a place for more robust interaction where the teacher becomes more of a guide and overseer, helping his/her students to build on their strengths and eliminate their weaknesses. The problem that this paper highlights is that in Nigeria, the importance of ICT and the fact that ICT has become a driving force in the world have not been recognized. It makes a strong case for educational institutions to adopt ICT into the entire curricular pedagogy. To achieve this, the paper recommend that legislation should be passed to make it mandatory for institutions of higher learning to become ICT compliant within stated deadlines. Second, alternative sources of energy should be sourced, to enable all staff and students of tertiary institutions to utilize ICT in their academic and extracurricular work. Third, indigenous technology should be promoted in order to grow locally generated ICT in order to make it cheaper and bring it within the reach of everyone.