Barriers of the use of ICT in private secondary schools

There are several impediments to the successful use of information and communication technology in secondary schools in Nigeria. These are: cost, weak infrastructure, lack of skills, lack of relevant software and limited access to the Internet.

Cost

The price of computer hardware and software continues to drop in most developed countries, but in developing countries, such as Nigeria, the cost of computers is several times more expensive. While a personal computer may cost less than a month’s wages in the United State, the average Nigeria worker may require more than two years’ income to buy one.

Nigeria has over 6,000 public secondary schools. Majority are short of books, paper and pencils. Many of the schools lack adequate infrastructure such as classrooms and only few are equipped with television or radio. Apart from the basic computers themselves, other costs associated with peripherals such as printers, monitors, paper, modem, extra disk drives are beyond the reach of most secondary schools in Nigeria. The schools cannot also afford the exorbitant Internet connection fees.

Weak infrastructure

In Nigeria, a formidable obstacle to the use of information and communication technology is infrastructure deficiencies. Computer equipment was made to function with other infrastructure such as electricity under “controlled conditions”. For the past fifteen years Nigeria has been having difficulty providing stable and reliable electricity supply to every nook and cranny of the country without success. Currently, there is no part of the country, which can boast of electricity supply for 24 hours a day except probably areas where government officials live. There have been cases whereby expensive household appliances such as refrigerators, deep freezers and cookers have been damaged by upsurge in electricity supply after a period of power outage.

Electronics equipment such as radio, television, video recorder and even computers has been damaged due to irregular power supply. When electricity supply is not stable and constant, it is difficult to keep high-tech equipment such as computers functioning, especially under extreme weather conditions as obtained in Nigeria. The high levels of dust during the dry season in Nigeria also make electronic equipment to have short live span.

In rural Nigeria most inhabitant do not have access to electricity, thereby denying rural secondary schools opportunity to benefit from the use of electronic equipment such as radio, television, video recorders and computers. The few Internet access available in Nigeria is found in urban centers. These environmental realities are difficult to manage because fans, sealed rooms and stable electricity are lacking in many urban homes and rural areas.

Another obstacle to ICT development in Nigeria is inadequate telecommunication facilities. Though the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has rated Nigerian’s Telecommunication Sector as the fastest growing in Africa, majority of Nigerians have no access to telephone. At the end of 1999, total private investment in telecommunication industry in the country was $50m and there were over 700, 000 lines with 450,000 connected. The government officials and officers acquired more than half the lines connected. On the Global System of Mobile Communication (GSM), Nigeria is also ahead of most African countries with more than 2 million subscribers connected. The telecommunication sector in Nigeria has attracted more direct foreign investment hence the growth rate is faster than any other sector of the economy. Between 2001 and 2003, about $3.8 billion new investment by foreign private investors have been recorded. As at the moment, more than 3 million landlines have been added to the existing telephone capacity.

Though Nigerian’s telecommunication sector is growing faster than in most African countries, the over 3 million landlines and 2 million GSM subscribers are a far cry from the ideal when such figures are meant to serve Nigeria’s nearly 124 million population. Again, most of the subscribers to the Global System of Mobile Communication (GSM) and landlines owners are found mostly in urban centers.

It is also on record that the connection fees for telecom facilities have reduced drastically over the years, the current rate is still too high for many Nigerians. In 1997, connection fees for telephone lines were about $1,500; today it is about $148. The current rate is too high in a country where the minimum monthly wage is about $51. To change this situation, Nigerian needs to figure out new ways of building necessary infrastructure to support ICT in the country.

Lack of skills

Nigeria does not only lack information infrastructure, it also lacked the human skills and knowledge to fully integrate ICT into secondary education. To use information and communication technology (ICT) in secondary schools in Nigeria, the need for locally trained workers to install, maintain and support these systems cannot be over emphasized. There is acute shortage of trained personnel in application software, operating systems, network administration and local technicians to service and repair computer facilities. Those who are designated to use computers in Nigeria do not receive adequate training, at worst, do not receive any training at all (Okebukola, 1997).

In Nigeria also, most secondary school teachers lack the skills to fully utilize technology in curriculum implementation hence the traditional chalk and duster approach still dominates in secondary school pedagogy. Information transfer using ICT is minimal or non-existence in secondary schools in Nigeria (Anao, 2003). Secondary school teachers in Nigeria need to be trained on educational technologies and the integration of computers into classroom teaching. According to Carlson and firpo (2001), “teachers need effective tools, techniques, and assistance that can help them develop computer based projects and activities especially designed to raise the level of teaching in required subjects and improve student learning.

Lack of relevant software

There is no doubt that the ultimate power of technology is the content and the communication. Though, software developers and publishers in the developed countries have been trying for long to develop software and multimedia that have universal application, due to the differences in education standards and requirements, these products do not integrate into curriculum across countries. Software that is appropriate and culturally suitable to the Nigerian education system is in short supply. There is a great discrepancy between relevant software supply and demand in developing countries like Nigeria. According to Salomon (1989), there are clear indications from many countries that the supply of relevant and appropriate software is a major bottleneck obstructing wider application of the computer. Even if Nigeria tries to approach this software famine by producing software that would suit its educational philosophies, there are two major problems to be encountered. First, the cost of producing relevant software for the country’s educational system is enormous. Second, there is dearth of qualified computer software designers in the country. To overcome this, people need to be trained in instructional design.

Limited access to the Internet

In Nigeria there are few Internet providers that provide Internet gateway services to Nigerians. Such Internet providers are made up of Nigerians who are in partnership with foreign information and communication companies. Many of these companies provide poor services to customers who are often exploited and defrauded. The few reputable companies, which render reliable services, charged high fees thus limiting access to the use of the Internet. The greatest technological challenge in Nigeria is how to establish reliable cost effective Internet connectivity. In a country where only about 0.6% of the populace has home personal computers, the few reliable Internet providers who have invested huge sum of money in the business have a very small clientele. They have to charge high fees in order to recoup their investment in reasonable time. Nigeria has about 500,000 Internets subscribers.

Secondary schools in Nigeria are not given adequate funds to provide furniture, requisite books, laboratories and adequate classrooms let alone being given adequate funds for high-tech equipment (computers) and Internet connectivity.

Again, due to the lack of adequate electricity supply, especially in rural areas in Nigeria, secondary schools located in those areas have no access to the Internet and are perpetually isolated and estranged from the world’s information superhighway. Nigeria in lagging behind other African countries such as Uganda, Senegal and South Africa who are already helping secondary school students in those countries to become better information users. All Internet service providers in Nigeria are based in the urban areas.

For many years, the Nigerian government had a monopolistic control of telecom service, which does not allow for the competitive environments that reduce telephony rates. Paltridge (1996) asserted that the penetration of Internet hosts is five times greater than in monopoly markets and that Internet access in countries with telecommunication competition enjoyed a growth rate five times higher than the monopoly environments. All that may change for Nigeria now as the government had invited private participation in the telecom industry and many investors are already in the Nigeria markets but it will take many years to know their full impact on Nigeria education system.