National Universities Commission (NUC) has given all the Federal, State, and Private Universities till Wednesday, August 5 2020 to complete a template form showing their readiness to resume academic activities which have been closed since 23 March due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
NUC, the regulatory and licensing body for the whole universities in Nigeria in a letter to the vice-chancellors of the 171 approved universities outlined the measures needed to be taken by all institutions.
Chris Maiyaki, director, directorate of the executive secretary’s office in a letter sighted by BusinessDay said the National Universities Commission has developed a template to generate data/ information on the preparedness of universities for possible reopening and resumption of academic activities amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Maiyaki stated that universities are also required to indicate the measures/strategies that have been put in place preparatory to the safe and hitch-free reopening of institutions in readiness for the commencement of full academic activities.
According to Maiyaki, “Such information when generated across the entire sub-sector will provide the commission with a full picture of the challenges as well as guide policy options by the government”.
He further noted that the template also provides for data on physical facilities such as infrastructure digital delivery, lecture theatres, halls and classrooms, laboratories, workshops, studies, and student accommodation.
The letter dated July 29 and addressed to all vice-chancellor observed that in the midst of all Covid-19 challenges, the Federal Ministry of education had since developed and circulated guidelines for school and learning facilities to provide the required support for the safe reopening of schools and resumption of academic activities.
BusinessDay had earlier reported that amid the disruption in traditional learning occasioned by closure of lecture halls, privately-owned universities in Nigeria have embraced this “big moment”, but not so for most federal and state universities across the six geo-political zones who are battling with lack of basic infrastructure for online learning, ASUU strike, among other challenges.
National Universities Commission (NUC) data show that only 87 of Nigeria’s 170 universities are able to offer up to 24-hour Wi-Fi service which, in the period of online learning, is key.
According to the data, universities owned by private entities in Nigeria are the ones able to provide internet access to their staff and students 24 hours daily with 58.6 percent of them able to do so. They are followed by federal universities where 58.1 percent could offer internet service for 24 hours, while only 38.6 percent of state universities are able to offer 24-hour daily internet service.
Maurice Onyiriuka, a lecturer with Imo State University told BusinessDay that the outbreak of coronavirus has widened the disparity between private universities and their federal and state counterparts as well as their ability to migrate to online learning.
Reacting to the disparity in migration to online learning, Isaac Adeyemi, former vice-chancellor, Bells University in Otta, Ogun State, said the government’s approach to the online migration has not been encouraging.
“The federal and state governments are really not serious about the way they are handling this online migration for universities. How can they want public universities to move without getting ICT providers to offer their tools and platforms at little or no cost to enable them to reach millions of their ‘marginalised’ students?” he asked.
