Is Online Learning The Right Solution For Students In Nigeria?

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The northeast region of Nigeria is frequently highlighted by occurrences of arbitrary bombings, kidnappings and militant attacks, especially since the rise of violent campaigns in 2009 led by the insurgent group Boko Haram.

Learning Challenges In Northeast Nigeria

 

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If you are a parent in the cities of Bauchi or Damaturu located in northeast Nigeria, how would you react when Boko Haram insurgents plant to attack local schools in the region? Sadly, parents in the uncertain regions of north-eastern Nigeria have to deal with such heartbreaking decisions. So should you send your child to school?

Irrespective of what you decide, the decision for most parents in the area has already been made with closing down of more than 800 schools due to insurgency and insecurity. A separate assessment and analysis made by the CCSG (Coalition of Civil Society Groups) has revealed that more than 194,664 students are compelled to discontinue attending their schools due to the threats of militant attacks. The President of CCSG, Etuk Bassey Williams, believes that as a result of the closing down of schools the nation will fail to meet the benchmarks set for primary school enrolment in 2015, with below 80% enrolment of children who are old enough to attend schools.

However there is still hope for Nigeria. Many academic experts have suggested that online education should be adopted in school curricula as a prominent tool that can help in teaching students who are unable to attend schools, specifically in the northeast regions of Nigeria.

Can Online Education Offer The Required Solution?

 

Dr. Dipo Fashina, the previous President of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), recently said that the education system followed in the country is counterproductive and flawed. It is in a strong need of renovation and reorganisation. Fashina said “Education is the major thing that promotes being at the height of development and we are not there yet.”

Online education has already gained significant popularity among learners from different regions of Nigeria. The number of students enrolling for online learning programmes is increasing constantly, especially due to the ineffective education system. This only creates unprepared graduates who are unable to find any employment opportunities.

If you are a Nigerian student who wants to pursue quality education and earn accredited qualifications from recognised institutes, then online programmes are undoubtedly the best option for you. Moreover, online programmes are highly affordable and cost only a fraction of traditional college tuition fees.

Expanding The Reach Of Education

 

Nowadays, it has becoming even easier for Nigerian students to pursue online study as the country has more than 175 million monthly mobile phone subscriptions. The fact is now online education programmes are being customised for African learners and you can find numerous online platforms from around the globe, including Africa. Beni American University, founded by Gossy Ukanwoke, is the first online learning university in Nigeria.

Another popular African online learning application is the MTN mAcademy, which caters to students throughout Africa. It provides various courses such as teaching, banking and information technology. The West African Examination Council (WAEC) has also endorsed the mAcademy platform which is considered as a model for how an online platform should be executed for teaching students in the northeast region of Nigeria.

As the telecommunications sector is developing in the country with growing capabilities for internet broadband connectivity, the reach of online learning will spread even further to help learners in uncertain regions pursue quality education effectively.

What do you think about online learning? Can it help students in Nigeria’s northeast? Share your thoughts and views with us by commenting in the box below.

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Online Education: A Trend Changing The Nigerian Education

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Internet learning, Online Education, or Distance Learning – whatever you prefer to call it, is a big trend in today’s academic world. For most it’s a flexible knowledge enhancer programme that hardly demand any sacrifice in your professional and personal life. Moreover, it is making education available for all overcoming the physical, geographical and financial predicaments. From students in China who can’t afford to fly abroad to the learners in African continent living below poverty level – online education is bringing hope for everybody.

Helping to overcome the barriers

Demand of the employers is increasing. They want smarter performance at workplace. So, employees who want to improve their performance are keen on attaining higher level degrees. Hence, demand for higher and effective education is increasing all over the world.

People residing in developing continents are opting for study abroad as their educational resources aren’t satisfactory enough. For example a surging popularity for the courses available in UK Universities is being noticed among the Nigerian students over the last few years and it’s increasing at a rapid rate. The Higher Education Statistics Agency in the UK (HESA) shows that 17,640 Nigerians enrolled to study at UK universities during 2011/12 compared to 5,385 for 2003/04. Selma Toohey, international recruitment officer for Sub-Saharan Africa at Nottingham Trent University, says - “More people are realising that studying in the UK is a realistic option and many find it to be a real benefit to experience living in another culture while studying for their degrees.”

Fresh avenues toward brighter future

Well, if your commitments and responsibilities are keeping you away from such pleasures then new age learning options are ready to help you. In addition to that, visiting a foreign land to pursue a degree is still a far cry for many people around the world. So, the best Universities are opening online curriculum to reach out to those who are unable to afford higher education.

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It’s not that Nigerians don’t have good educational institutions but they don’t operate properly as the government doesn’t fund for them. Moreover, most of them are over-populated and have more than enough academic staffs. So, students are gradually moving toward online education. Initiatives are being taken and renowned institutions are coming forward to change the present environment. Of late, Intel launched an online solution for the new age learners in Nigeria. Their mission is to help them access economical and free digital learning resources. The education solution, Learn Marketplace, and Intel Explore are introduced and designed to facilitate the traditional complications of learning. Speaking about the collaboration with Intel, Ehizogie Binitie, Co-Founder And Chief Technology Officer of Rancard, said,

“We recognise education as a major challenge across the continent and believe the platform we have deployed together with Intel for the African market is an important step in solving this challenge, equipping both educators and content creators with the tools they need to create and distribute high quality educational content.”

Attaining education through online can be a great technique for learners with busy schedule or having geographical and financial constraints. Including the options of flexible scheduling, audio-video instructions, and relevant choices in courses, internet classes offer you to be a part of global classroom and participate in discussions where your mates will be commenting from different parts of the world with you. It couldn’t be more exciting than this for the students of developing countries like Nigeria.