INITIATIVES AND CHALLENGES IN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY IN HIGHER EDUCATION

INITIATIVES AND CHALLENGES IN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY IN HIGHER EDUCATION

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1      BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Technology’s rapid advancement is quite exciting. Globalization and the information economy have made significant contributions to the economic, political, social, and technological development of a country’s economy (David, 2008). Despite the fact that poor countries around the world, including Africa, are moving at a glacial pace, African nations are not immune to the revolution sweeping the world of information and communication technology. As a result, several studies have been conducted to ensure that African countries are adequately prepared to face the challenges of the digital age (Louis, 2006). Electronic networks, software, and hardware, as well as numerous technological protocols, comprise ICT. ICTs are surrounded by networks and services that aid in the local dissemination of private and public information. ICT includes internet services, broadcasting, information and communication technology equipment, and other related information and communication activities (United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, 1994). ICT is a computer-based technology that includes the processing, storage, transmission, and retrieval of information. It is clear that many African scholars are looking for ways to address data and information transmission issues. This is linked to the significant problem of ICT financing; agencies and the government should do what is necessary, such as providing infrastructure to support ICT and training staff to manage it. Some African countries, according to The Partnership for Higher Education in Africa (2007), have enacted significant ICT policies, while others have not (Edwin, 2005). Despite the fact that several African universities have campuses in The collaboration is a leader in ICT, but according to the research, they have no plans to make ICT nationally sustainable. Given the times we live in, if African institutions have made efforts in ICT, all of these universities should have home sites with every detail about the school- admissions procedures, faculties, and departments. According to this study, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Mozambique, Nigeria, and Ghana are among the countries with a reasonable level of ICT adoption in their higher education institutions. Ghana, for example, began using ICT in the 1990s and has made only slow progress since then (The Partnership for Higher Education in Africa, 2007b). Slow enough that, in 2002, Ghana’s public institutions pooled bandwidth to benefit the internet via the Network for Research Education (REN). Several institutions, however, have become self-sufficient in terms of internet access and connection due to REN’s inconsistencies. Tanzania, Uganda, and Mozambique are among the East African countries with only one university with internet access (Moris, 2009). Furthermore, Mozambique is now the second-most-connected country in Sub-Saharan Africa, trailing only South Africa. Stories about internet availability in Nigeria have been epileptic since the 1990s. The first internet experiment was carried out at the University of Ilorin with the assistance of McMaster University in Canada. In Nigeria, many university employees now have e-mail accounts, and more than 60 universities have websites. Some make use of VSAT, while others work on a variety of educational programs (The Partnership). for African Higher Education, 2007b). The Federal Ministry of Education has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a private company to provide computers to academic staff at universities in order to improve teaching and learning as part of former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s Computerize Nigeria Project (CNP). Furthermore, it is important to note that ICT in higher education in Africa has been hampered by a number of issues. As a result, it is necessary to assess how far African nations have advanced in ICT, what they know, what they don’t know, and how effectively they have addressed the issues they face. Understanding the progress made in ICT to date, as well as where we are headed, is critical.

as well as what needs to be done. In the 1980s, Nigeria’s educational system was largely manual, but in 1989, the National Universities Commission (NUC) introduced the computerized Management Information System (MIS) to Nigerian universities. 2005 (Mac-Ikemanjima). The topic of this study will be Information and Communication Technology in African Higher Education: Initiatives and Challenges.

1.2 THE PROBLEM’S STATEMENT

It is clear that ICT in higher education in Africa is hampered by a number of factors, including: Africans are conservative by nature, which means they resist change. Following established teaching and learning methods at all times. As a result, African university administrators regard it as a major issue to provide computer facilities to both students and instructors (Albirini, 2006). Albirini (2006).

Inadequate ICT infrastructure, such as unreliable power supplies and high internet bandwidth costs, among other things. Universities in Africa have been inundated with untrained ICT personnel. Many professors lack the necessary training to use ICT to educate and carry out their educational responsibilities. These are some of the issues that this research seeks to address.

1.3 THE STUDY’S OBJECTIVES

The primary goal of the study is to examine information and communication technology in higher education in Africa: efforts and challenges. Other specific objectives include:

i. research into the relationship between ICT and productivity in African higher education.

ii. Determine whether information and communication technology (ICT) improves access to instruction for African students.

iii.Resolve Africa’s ICT issues in higher education.

iv.To look into how private individuals can help.

ICT adoption in African institutions.

v.To research the impact of information and communication technologies on the African economy.

1.4 QUESTIONS FOR RESEARCH

i. What is the relationship between ICT and productivity in higher education in Africa?

ii. How can information and communication technology (ICT) improve access to education for African students?

iii.What are the solutions to Africa’s ICT challenges in higher education?

iv. How can private individuals help African institutions adopt ICT?

v.How do information and communication technologies affect the African economy?

1.5 THE STUDY’S IMPORTANCE

The goal of this research is to educate the general public, government officials, and higher education administrators in Africa about the initiatives and challenges of ICT in higher education in Africa.

This study aims to educate African governments and higher education administrators about the importance of addressing ICT issues in African universities. This study will be extremely helpful to other researchers who want to learn more about this topic, and it may also be used by non-researchers to supplement their own work. This study contributes to the body of knowledge and could serve as a model for future research or work.

1.6 STUDY OBJECTIVES

This study focuses on Information and Communication Technology in Higher Education in Africa: Initiatives and Challenges.

1.7 TERMS AND CONDITIONS

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT): An umbrella term for information technology (IT) that emphasizes the role of unified communications and the integration of various technologies.

Telecommunications (phone lines and wireless signals), computers, and the necessary enterprise software, middleware, storage, and audio-visual systems that allow users to access, store, transmit, and manipulate data.

ICT refers to the convergence of audio-visual and telephone networks with computer networks via a single cabling or connection system. There are substantial financial incentives to integrate the telephone network with the computer network system by using a single unified system of cabling, signal delivery, and management (owing to massive cost savings from eliminating the telephone network).

HIGHER EDUCATION: Post-secondary education, also known as third-level education, is a stage of formal study that follows secondary school. Higher education is typically provided by universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology, but it is also provided by other institutions.

Certain college-level institutions, such as vocational schools, trade schools, and other career colleges that award academic degrees or professional certifications, are also available. Non-degree tertiary education, as opposed to higher education, is also known as continuing education or further education.

INITIATIVE: The ability to evaluate and initiate activities independently.

CHALLENGE: This is a request for someone to compete or battle to see who has more talent or power.