INVESTIGATION OF COMPUTER UTILIZATION IN RECORD MANAGEMENT IN NIGERIAN UNIVERSITY SYSTEM
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Staff and students in some Nigerian universities are sometimes discouraged, disturbed, and disappointed as a result of delays in receiving needed information, inconsistency, redundancy, and inaccuracy of data, a lack of sufficient storage facility to cater for proper records of both staff and students, and the various universities’ inability to cope with massive amounts of data produced annually. Some of the causes of the aforementioned issues could be the method used to collect, collate, process, and maintain data, as well as other factors such as the protocol used to obtain the required information, economic, political, human, and so on. To address the aforementioned issues, all Nigerian universities’ exam and record units should be computerized. According to Ebijuwa (2017), a computer is
the tools used for collection, processing, storage transmission and dissemination of information. The computer is an essential medium for science to express, formulate, and communicate itself. The exam and record units should be automated in order for any university community to develop socially, politically, and economically, to have easy access to information when it is due, to overcome inaccuracy, inconsistency, and redundancy of data, insufficient storage infrastructure, to cater for adequate record of both staff and students, and to cope with the large amount of data produced yearly.
Computerized record keeping is focused on the use of computer systems and sophisticated programmable machines to handle information associated with a process and to control and activate mechanisms that facilitate or completely complete that process with minimal human intervention.
Rowley
(1986) cites four reasons for computerization, including:
i. increased workload – with a constantly decreasing staff, computerization can be beneficial.
ii. increased efficiency- computerization may be viewed as a means of saving time and money.
iii. require services – a computer may provide the opportunity to provide new services in addition to existing services at a low cost.
iv. Collaboration and Centralization
Significantly, the use of computers in university record keeping would enable employees and students to access large amounts of data via the internet, cable television, or some other type of distant electronic link. It will enable the institution to store and retrieve a massive amount of data for both staff and students. According to Ifeanyich (2015), computer use in The collection, collation, processing, storage, retrieval, use, transmission, dissemination, and maintenance of records is an important aspect of life and work in Nigerian universities because it is used to compute students’ grade point averages, for on-line registration, examination, and admission processing, to keep accurate records of both staff and students, accounting (financial management, purchasing, and accounting), and to keep accurate r Furthermore, the use of computers in record keeping in Nigerian universities will prevent unauthorized personnel from accessing staff and student records, allow data to be updated quickly and easily without redesigning and rewriting systems and programs, overcome data redundancy, repetitiveness, and inconsistency; lead to greater efficiency and effectiveness of record keeping, and provision of extra resources.
lecturers, students, and administrators with services These computer applications were made possible by their high processing speed, precision, diligence, adaptability, large storage capacity, software compatibility, and consistency in operation.
However, computers have improved the act of record keeping in the Nigeria University System as a result of the “Information Technology Age,” as they are used to compute students’ grade point averages, for on-line registration and admission processing, to keep records of both staff and students, and to process students’ academic transcripts, among other things. According to Umana (2020), the computer, a priceless technological innovation of our time, has numerous applications in all fields of human endeavor. Computers are used in the education sector, for example, to assess and grade students’ test results.
Its ability to maintain consistency in its processes and relationships both within and outside the system is dependent on its ability to maintain consistency in its processes and relationships both within and outside the system, and in order to maintain a state of equilibrium in the system, adequate feedback from which the university collects information about the quality of her output to the environment is required.
Importantly, the primary functions of university education include teaching, research, and community service. Staff and students at the University of Ado-Ekiti State in Ekiti State want to overcome the age-old challenges of collecting academic transcripts, NYSC call-up letters, certificates, results, and other critical data as and when needed. There are some strange references to the metric being used to establish the factor that accounts for the limitations of this university’s manual record-keeping technique.
keeping. Data loss as a result of moving files from one location to another; data storage mode, form misfiling, time lost searching for records due to large files, weak security measures, increased student enrollment, and a labor shortage are among the issues mentioned. Other factors that may contribute to the problems associated with the manual method of record keeping are sometimes overlooked. At the University of Ado-Ekiti, for example, there are attitudinal, administrative, and organizational issues, as well as inadequate computer and accessory facilities.
1.2 Problem Statement
Despite the important role of computer utilization in record keeping at the University of Ado-Ekiti in Ekiti State, constraints such as user inaccessibility to computer, insufficient knowledge and skills-based for computer planning, and erratic power supply exist. Computer utilization is discouraged by a lack of supply, a lack of computer literacy on the part of university-affiliated staff and students, attitudinal, administrative, and organizational issues, and the prohibitive cost of computers and their accessories. The problem that characterized manual record keeping has been a source of concern for both faculty and students at Ekiti State’s University of Ado-Ekiti. Students who went to get their academic transcripts, results, NYSC call up letters, and certificates, for example, did not receive them all on time. If all of these flaws are not identified and corrected, the University may be unable to meet its obligations and provide services to its citizens. As a result, this research focuses on the issues that plagued the traditional method of record keeping in
tertiary institutions to determine the causes and appropriate solutions. Furthermore, this study will determine the advantages and disadvantages of using computers for record keeping. Some of its goals are to produce accurate reports of student and staff data within a certain time limit, reduce errors due to human feelings, overcome redundancy, inconsistency, and repetitiveness of data, prevent unauthorized access to student and staff data and files, handle large volumes of data and store data efficiently, assist university authorities in decision making, and for effective and efficient management of staff and students.
1.3 The Study’s Goal
The overarching goal of this project was to investigate computer utilization in record management in the Nigerian university system. Other specific goals include:
i. Conduct an investigation
the difficulties associated with the manual method of record keeping
ii. To assess the impact of the manual method of record keeping at the University of Ado-Ekiti in Ekiti State.
iii. To critically assess the extent to which computers are used in record keeping at the University of Ado-Ekiti in Ekiti State.
iv. To investigate the significance of computer use in record keeping at the University of Ado-Ekiti in Ekiti State.
1.4 Research Issues
i. What are the issues that are unique to the manual method of record keeping?
ii. What is the impact of the manual method of record keeping at the University of Ado-Ekiti in Ekiti State?
iii. What is the extent of computer use in record keeping at the University of Ado-Ekiti in Ekiti State?
iv.
What are the advantages of using computers for record keeping at the University of Ado-Ekiti in Ekiti State?
1.5 Importance of the Research
This study will shed light on the problems that have plagued the manual record-keeping method. The study’s findings will assist both faculty and students at this university in understanding the computer’s potential in record keeping, as well as expose students and faculty at this university to the function of computers in a variety of fields. It will also necessitate the government’s active participation in logical locative mechanisms for all sub-sectors of the education industry, as well as an improvement in the quality and efficiency of record keeping in terms of academic transcripts, registration courses, NYSC call-up letters, results, and other documents. certificates. This study is notable for the fact that several general problems plaguing the university setup will be investigated and critical and general solutions will be developed. These will provide important guidance to policymakers, planners, administrators, and school technocrats as they work to improve the university system in the future. Because no guides or mediators are required, it will provide students and university personnel with significantly easier access to information than the manual method. It enables the most efficient use of available personnel, saving time and money. It will facilitate information dissemination within and beyond the institution’s boundaries through effective communication and an online system. It will enable data to be changed quickly and easily without the need to rethink and rewrite.
the system and programmes. It will aid in the improvement of performance, the elimination of data redundancy, repetitiveness, and inconsistency, and the strengthening of educational leadership and attainment. The searching and retrieval of staff and student records will be improved. It will help both university employees and students compile and display standardised records. Annual statistical reports, for example, summarizing the total number of students admitted, the total number of students and staff on campus, the total number of graduating and non-graduating students in each department and faculty, as well as the annual budget, revenue, and examination results.
1.6 The Study’s Scope
The scope of this study is limited to the challenges that plagued the traditional method of record keeping in tertiary institutions.
institutions in order to ascertain the causes and appropriate solutions. Furthermore, this study will determine the advantages and disadvantages of using computers for record keeping. The research is restricted to the University of Ado Ekiti in Ekiti State.
1.7 Study Restrictions
During the course of conducting this study, the researcher encountered a number of challenges, including time and financial constraints, as well as language and respondent attitudes. Nonetheless, the researchers were able to overcome these challenges and ensure the success of this investigation.
Furthermore, the case study approach used in the research presented the investigator with a number of challenges, such as the possibility of making mistakes. erroneous judgments and being subject to prejudice. Despite this, the investigator was able to overcome the difficulties by adhering to the broad principles of process respect, justice, fairness, impartiality in observation and recording, and evidence weighing.
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