The National Universities Commission (NUC) has claimed emphatically that Nigeria cannot operate 100 per cent e-learning system because of the challenges of infrastructure, power, and internet access.
Dr Suleiman Ramon-Yusuf, NUC’s Deputy Executive Secretary (Academics), disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Abuja.
Ramon-Yusuf also expressed the commission’s concern over integrity issues surrounding the operation of the mode of learning in Nigeria.
He reiterated that e-learning must pass the integrity test before being fully embraced in Nigeria.
“We want to ensure that when there is e-learning in place, it would be run in such a manner that every student is accounted for, every student has an e-portfolio which enables everyone to know that it is this student that registered for this course and it is 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 sit down and articulate the requirements for e-learning, materials, men and women, infrastructure; what should we put in place, how should we proceed; we can’t do e-learning today in Nigeria. What we can do is blended learning.
“Anybody who is making noise that e-learning must start tomorrow 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; we need to invest; we need to train. After putting all the infrastructures in place, we need training of teachers. You must get them to have a mindset shift”, he said.
