ASUU Berates FG’s Online School Directive, Calls It Political Gimmickry
The Academic Staff Union Of Universities has directly attacked the directive of the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu for schools to continue the academic session online. This was issued in a leaflet released April by the University of Ibadan chapter of the union. The statement listed out several reasons the directive is more or less an unrealistic venture that would only expose the education sector as ill funded and underdeveloped. Below is the entire statement released by ASUU:
THE DIRECTIVE BY THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION THAT TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS SHOULD RESUME THE SESSION BY ONLINE TEACHING
Following the call by the Honorable Minister of Education to VCs, Provosts and Rectors of tertiary education institutions to recommence their aborted academic sessions suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic online, ASUU wishes to appraise Nigerians of the challenges involved in the implementation of the Ministerial directive. It is important to break what E-learning involves down to its constituents bolts and nuts. This is necessary in order not to leave anyone in doubt that the Honorable Minister is either engaged in political gimmickry or that he is not fully informed of the situation in the sector over which he presides. To this end. it is imperative to make the following categorical declarations:
I. The Minister needs to understand that E-learning is not the same as computer vending and supplies. It is not as simple as computerization. supplying of computers and accessories. or simply connecting institutions to the internet.
2. The production of power points slides and accessing MOOCS of overseas university is not E-learning.
3. Online learning is a type of E-learning that depends entirely on internet-based resources and support system. E-learning requires certain behavioural changes and regulatory adjustments in order to make it work for the learner. It cannot be established by mere Ministerial directive and bureaucratic fiat but through careful and detailed planning. funding and training by those involved. None of these has been done in Nigeria
4. There is no Nigerian University today that is operating any form or model of E-learning because of poor internet access, high bandwidth costs and irregular pours apply. On what infrastructure does the Minister expect the online delivery to run,
5. Over the years, the government in collaboration with some corrupt Vice-Chancellors have dumped smartboards on Universities which are now largely used as markerboards because they are not Internet-enabled and have no electricity to power them.
6. Faculties in universities have become generator farms with attendant noise pollution in an attempt to maintain some degree of services. What does the Minister expect to happen to change the entrenched degenerative situation,
7. Online learning depends critically on an effective library system. with online resources and seamless access. from across the globe. No Nigerian Library, including the National Library, has any semblance of a kindergarten library in serious countries.
8. Online learning can only be effective where there is effective learner support online. For such support to be sustainable both learners and facilitators must have seamless access to the interact. and must be attuned to the new environment and culture of learning. This means that requisite training must have been done.
9. Learning content must be available in a format amenable to self-learning. This requires skilled design through collaborative efforts by specialists over tittle. MOOCS have been touted as a replacement for well-designed content that is muted to the characteristics of the learner and adapted to the local context. We shouldn’t be fooled.
If. If the objectives is learning and the focus is on the learner. preliminary studies ought to have been done to determine the learner characteristics and the diversities of the realities across the federation before modelling any approach to E-learning. The Minister is not properly educated to understand that online learning is much more than copying MOOCS and making PowerPoint.
11. Internet access is variable across geopolitical regions. as well as linguistic and cultural parameters are highly different. One size fits all approach is ludicrous. Moreover. sustainable technologies should be the factor in determining the approach to E-learning not the excitement from improperly digested information from too much education tourism.
12. Nigeria today runs a rudimentary distance education system through a National Open University and approved dual-mode institutions that have distance learning centres. The approach to distance education by these institutions is at best characterized as blended learning. weighing more in the direction of face to face interaction. Some of these institutions are basically disguised part-time programs.
13. The distance learning operations are fraught with inequities due to the fact that they are set up primarily as fundraising platforms for 1GR by their respective institutions.
1d. There is no single University in Nigeria today that operates a mix-mode system. This is when students have the option to take courses online or face to face. To seek to transit therefore to online delivery will amount to taking a plunge. We believe that as usual. contractors have cornered the government and have seen a business opportunity. While civil servants are once mom using COVIID-19 as a reason to defraud the government.
15. The Nigerian university system had been defrauded for many years by federal agencies who dump substandard computers in universities from time to time at the end of the year to justify last-minute plundering of national resources in the name of supporting E-Learning.
16. With the poverty levels in Nigeria today, we are not told how online learning will be financed. Lecturers are ale burdened by the fact that they have to finance the tools of then work from their salaries. There is no other profession where employees are required to pay for the cost of the tools of their work. On average. a lecturer spends between twenty thousand rain and forty-thousand naira on data monthly. another twenty-thousand to buy fuel for generators. This is besides the fact that he bears the cost of purchasing a by top for his work and contributing towards keeping indigent students in school. The Academic Staff Union of Universities wishes to call on Nigerians not to be deceived by the sudden love for online learning. The hounds have smelt an avenue to plunder our national resources once MOM. At such a time of serious emergency when any right-thinking person should be reflecting.. can see once again that they want to make money from the suffering of the poor masses.
April 2020
This leaflet is issued by ASUU-UI Publicity Committee.
