Bridging the Digital Divide The Nigerian Case Study

1
Bridging the Digital DivideThe Nigerian Case
Study

• By
• Prof. G. O. Ajayi,
• Director General/CEO
• National Information Technology Development
  Agency
• Federal Ministry of Science and Technology
• At
• Developing Country Access on Online Scientific
  Publishing Sustainable Alternatives
• ICTP
• Trieste, Italy.
• 4th 5th October, 2002

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A Quotable quote.

• The Internet holds the greatest promise humanity
  has known for long-distance learning and
  universal access to quality education. It offers
  the best chance yet for developing countries to
  take their rightful place in the global economy.
  And so our mission must be to ensure access as
  widely as possible. If we do not, the gulf
  between the haves and the have-nots will be the
  gulf between the technology-rich and the
  technology-poor.
• Kofi AnnanSecretary-General, United
  NationsScience, 19 February, 1999, page 1079

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Has 12 of World population, but 2 of Worlds
main telephone lines.
More than 3/4 of the capital cities in African
countries have developed some form of Internet
access.
Average level of income is the lowest, but the
cost of installing telephone line is the highest.
Recent Statistics has it that there are about 3
million Internet users in Africa with only 1
million outside South Africa.
About 70-80 percent of Africa's population
resides outside major cities, and local dial
access facilities for them are still very rare
Internet connectivity is 0.3 of the world-wide
connectivity.
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ICT Position of Africa

• ICT has provided enormous opportunities for
  development all around the globe
• However, the African continent has not been able
  to benefit much from the information revolution
  because of the dearth of facilities
• The telecommunication infrastructure is rather
  inadequate to meet the challenges of the
  information age
• Under the New Partnership for African Development
  (NEPAD), priority has been given to the
  development of information and communications
  technology, recognising it as a major vehicle for
  African development.

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SITUATION OF ICT IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS
(HEI) IN AFRICAFunctions of HEIs (J. Daly)
Include

• Education (traditional, distance education
  others)
• (Research Development)
• Knowledge Creation, Organization Management
• Knowledge Gate Keeping
• Archival Library Services
• Management University administration
• Socio-economic-technological Services
• Overcoming the Digital Divide
• Human Resources Development in general
• Technological Gate-Keeping
• Technological Transfer Adaptation

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Levels of ICT and Internet Development in HEIs

• Single Computer with Dial-Up facilities
• Local Area Network (LAN) in a location for all
  users
• Local Area Network
• Campus Area Network
• Library LAN
• Internet Connectivity of Campus Network
• VSAT and wireless facilities for quick
  deployment

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State and Use of ICT in HEIs

• Poor availability and quality of infrastructure
• Inadequate Institutional Capacity
• Inadequate Human Resource Capacity
• Low bandwidth of connectivity Poor penetration of
  ICT into HEIs
• Poor penetration of ICT into HEIs
• Some Obstacles
• Absence of NICI policy to take care of HEIs
• Gross under-utilization of existing
  infrastructures
• Poor telecommunications facilities
• Electricity supply and other basic
  infrastructures

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Uses in ICT in HEIs

• Teaching, Learning and Research
• Contents provision
• Professional tool for future labour market
• Administration and Operational Management
• Tactical and Strategic Management
• Collection, dissemination and exchange of
  information
• Support for conduct and management of research
• Transformation of library to an Information
  collection,
• processing, compiling and dissemination unit
• Minimal usage of IT currently locally in the
  University and
• externally

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Library in the Information Age

• Transformation into a new information services
  unit
• Electronic acquisition and serials control
• Electronic inter library loan
• Electronic circulation functions
• Gradual trends toward library digitization
• Emergence of library information networks
• Connectivity to campus intranet and Internet
• Journals on CD-ROMs
• Electronic Journals
• Use of digital libraries in Africa and worldwide

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Comparative Situation

• Over 200 universities in the US have 45Mbps
  Internet connectivity
• 85 of primary schools have 1.5Mbps Internet
  connectivity
• ONLY a few African universities have 64kbps and
  higher bandwidth

• Integration of IT into University Functions
• Entry (teachers teach students to use IT)
• Adoption (teachers use IT to support traditional
  instruction)
• Adaptation (teachers use IT to enrich curricula)
• Appropriation (IT is integrated and used for its
  unique capabilities)
• Invention (Development of new learning
  environment using IT as a tool).

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Some Findings about the on-line Discussion on
ICT in HEIs in Africa

• ICT provides powerful tools and new paradigm for
  execution of the functions of HEIs education,
  knowledge creation, knowledge organization and
  management, knowledge gate keeping, archival and
  library services as well as socio-economic-technol
  ogical
• services to the community
• A lot of similarity in the HEIs studied
• Need to transform HEIs from traditional role to a
  more demanding
• role catalyzed by the ICT
• Donor financial technical assistance ,
  especially in HRD were
• significant to the success of the projects

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Some Findings about the on-line Discussion on ICT
in HEIs in Africa- contd

• New curricula necessary, which is learner
  centered
• Integration of ICT into learning, research and
  management is still
• in its infancy in most of the cases
• Internet based degree programmes , and Internet
  based open
• Universities could constitute challenges to the
  traditional brick
• and mortar traditional universities
• ICT strategic policy, plans and implementation
  mandatory
• HEIs can be marginalized by global on-line
  institutions
• Urgent need to integrate ICT into learning,
  research management
• Transformation of the library into new
  Information Services Unit

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The Nigerian Situation

• Nigeria, with a population of 120 million people
  is one of the fastest growing telecommunications
  market in Africa.
• There are 36 States and 774 Local Government
  Areas.
• Currently, the GSM operators are enjoying a
  record of more than 1 million subscribers in less
  than 1 a year of operation
• Access to Internet has been limited to the major
  cities and most times through dial-up connection
  from smaller cities at exorbitant rates and very
  unstable service.
• With more than 60million Nigerian living outside
  the major cities, Internet connectivity is a
  major issue that should be given special
  attention in the IT industry.
• Without adequate connections to advanced
  telecommunications infrastructure and services,
  many rural, and suburban communities may not be
  able to fully participate in the emerging
  information economy.
• This is a trend that has to change in the near
  future.

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The Nigerian Situation (contd).

• To address the problem of inadequate ICT
  infrastructure, the Federal Government of Nigeria
  has taken the following steps
• Launching of the new National Telecommunications
  Policy in September 2000 to further liberalize
  the sector.
• Declaration of information and communication
  technologies as a national priority project.
• Approval of the National policy on Information
  Technology and subsequent establishment of a
  National Information Technology Development
  Agency (NITDA) in March/April 2001, as the
  implementing agency.
• The launching of the Nigerian Satellite System
  programme by the National Space Research and
  Development Agency (NARSRDA).

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Developments in the Nigerian Information and
Communications Technology Sector

• Privatisation and Liberalisation
• Plans are on to privatise the national carrier-
  NITEL
• Second National Operator has been licensed
• GSM Licence
• Four GSM operators have been given licenses
• Fixed Wireless Access Spectrum Allocation
• 34 operators have just been given licenses
  covering all the 36 states, including the
  FCT-Abuja

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Nigerian National IT PolicyThe Vision

• To make Nigeria an IT capable country in Africa
  and a key player in the Information Society by
  the year 2005, using IT as the engine for
  sustainable development and global
  competitiveness.
• The Mission is to Use IT for
• Education
• Creation of Wealth
• Poverty Eradication
• Job Creation
• Global Competitiveness

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Sectoral Application of the IT Policy

• Human Resource Development
• Infrastructure
• Governance
• Research and Development
• Health
• Agriculture
• Urban and Rural Development
• Trade and Commerce
• Arts, Culture and Tourism
• National Security and Law Enforcement
• Fiscal Measures

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Implementation Strategy
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Implementing the IT Policy

• Changing the face of IT development in Nigeria is
  a move that needs the collaborative effort of
  both the Private sector, the public and
  international initiatives
• Baseline Studies will be conducted in various
  areas of IT Development
• Strategic Planning inline with National
  Development Plan
• The challenge is so great that it cannot be
  handled by the agency alone.
• NITDA is therefore ready to work together with
  all in order to achieve the missions and visions
  of the policy

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A Brief History of NITDA

• NITDA took off on April 18th 2001.
• Started from Minister of ST Conference room.
• Moved to boys quarters of Biotechnology Resource
  Centre, Parakou Crescent.
• Moved to the Corporate Headquarters, in Sept.
  2001.
• Started with a Staff Strength of 2.
• Now has some substantial number of staff (over
  40) for our operations.

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Some achievements of NITDA

• Collaborations with the private sector to foster
  the growth of the IT industry in Nigeria.
• Belief in Public Private Partnership (PPP).
• Collaborations with International Organisations
• UNDP TICAD Initiative
• UNESCO Plan of Action
• The Nigerian-American Information Initiative
  (NAII)
• CISCO Agreement
• Embassy Initiatives
• NDI on the National Assembly IT Projects
• EDDI Community Resource Centre Project
• Collaboration with Foreign governments
• French government ICT initiative and the Italian
  Government e-government initiative.
• Japanese Government
• Collaborations with the Public Sector

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Some achievements of NITDA (contd)

• Achievements
• Government Portal under construction. This will
  facilitate the development of G2G, G2C, C2G,
  interactions.
• Development of an indigenous computer keyboard
  for national use.
• Development of the National Information
  Infrastructure Backbone (NIIB)
• Provision of Internet Access to the Presidential
  Network.
• Public Service Information Network
• Establishment of Enterprise Technology Centre at
  the Federal Secretariat Complex

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Focus for the Year

• National Information Infrastructure Backbone
  (NIIB).
• NITDA/State Governments Partnership for VSAT
  Internet Installations and Broadband Wireless
  Facilities
• Rural Internet Resource Centres (RIRC)
• Mobile Internet Units (MIU).
• Baseline Studies.
• E-government.
• Human Resources Development.
• IT Parks
• IT integration into sectors civil service,
  military/security services, judiciary, health,
  etc

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The Nature of theNational Information
Infrastructure Backbone (NIIB)
State Information Infrastructure Backbone (SIIB)
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Other Projects

• Open University and Distance Learning for Human
  Resource Development
• Virtual Library Project
• Rural Community Centres
• Mobile Community Centres for the rural areas
• Local Content Development on the Internet
• Plans to utilize IT for tele-medicine

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Nigeria and Distance Education.

• The first significant approach to distance
  education in Nigeria started with the
  establishment of the National Open University
  (NOU) in July, 1993.
• Though it was suspended, the law establishing the
  university was not abrogated.
• Recently, the Federal Ministry of Education has
  come up with an implementation plan for the
  National Open and Distance Learning Programmes
  with its strategies planned around the
  resuscitation of the National Open University
  (NOU).

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Challenges to Distance and Online Education in
Nigeria.
Institutional Capacity Development
Human Resource Capacity Development
Infrastructure Capacity
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Infrastructure Capacity.

• Distance and online education will require the
  development of a network of ICT infrastructure
  all over the country.
• This can be achieved through
• Increasing the teledensity.
• The availability of large bandwidth of ICT
  facilities like fibre optic network, ISDN.
• Creating a network of VSAT stations in strategic
  locations in the country.
• Most prospective students in Nigeria lack access
  to the Internet and www.

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Challenges to Human Capacity

• There is an acute shortage of skilled Distance
  and Online Instructor professionals.
• Most lack content from their homes and where
  these are available, are quite expensive to
  maintain.
• Many Nigerians still lack the basic computing
  skills.
• Recent Efforts towards developing human capacity
  in Distance Education
• national workshop on distance education organized
  by the office of the Special Adviser on Education
  to the president, in September 2000 with the
  theme Evolving a National Policy on Distance.

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Recent Efforts towards developing human
capacityin Distance Education

• Amongst other things the workshop proposed a
  materials development workshop.
• A follow-up workshop was held in June, 2001
  co-sponsored by the Federal Ministry of
  Education, Abuja office of the United Nations
  Educational Scientific and Cultural organization
  (UNESCO), Dakar, Senegal-based UNESCO BREDA
  (Regional Office for Education in Africa), office
  of the Special Adviser on Education and the
  Education Tax Fund (ETF).
• It drew more than 250 participants from the
  primary, secondary and tertiary education
  sectors, the ministry and its parastatals. There
  were also international participants from the
  Gambia, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Liberia. One of
  the resource persons, came from the South African
  Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE).

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Recent Efforts towards developing human capacity
in Distance Education (contd)

• During the June workshop, participants were
  trained in 'Writing Distance Education materials,
  Use of Visuals, Development of CD-ROM, online
  materials, Choosing Appropriate Technology, among
  others.
• Sequel to the workshop, a National Open
  University Course Materials Development meeting
  was held in March in Lokoja Kogi State. The
  Commonwealth of Learning (COL) sent three experts
  down from Canada.

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Recent Efforts towards developing human capacity
in Distance Education (contd)

• The participants (over 125 top-rate academics
  from Nigeria's institutions of higher learning)
  were drilled on
• Systematic ways of developing and designing
  instructional materials and courses for distance
  learning.
• Seven Critical Elements of Instructional Design
  for Open Learning
• Preparing Instructional Materials and Delivery of
  Open Learning.
• Evaluation of Open Learning Programmes, as well
  as open questions and discussions on open
  learning.
• The participants were expected to have developed
  183 courses will be written and 235 others
  adapted in 54 programmes carefully chosen to
  kick-start the re-establishment of the National
  Open University in Lagos.

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Efforts towards developing Institutional Capacity

• Since early 1960s, the Nation has been committed
  to remedying the deficiency in the colonial
  education strategy targeted to only a privileged
  few.
• In 1976, government launched the Universal
  Primary Education (UPE) programme to catalyse
  socio-economic development using education as a
  tool.
• In 1977, the National Policy on Education was
  launched with a clear declaration from the
  government that education is the most important
  instrument of change in any society. Any
  fundamental change in the intellectual and social
  outlook of any society has to be preceded by an
  educational revolution.

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The National Open University.

• The National Open University is designed to
  increase the access of all Nigerians to formal
  and non-formal education in a manner convenient
  to their circumstances.
• It would cater for the continuous educational
  development of professionals in various sectors.
• The Delivery method for NOU is the best way to
  reach a leaner through the use of technologies
  that learner already has or can easily be made
  available.

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Academic Programmes to be run at NOU

• These are grouped into logical degree structures
  under the following schools.
• Information and Computer Services.
• Agricultural Sciences
• Business Administration and Management Studies.
• Engineering Public Studies.
• Education.
• Science and Technology
• Health Sciences
• Arts Social Sciences.
• Legal Studies
• Vocational Continuing Education.

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Obafemi Awolowo University
Academic Network Project OAUNET - Current Design
Computer Networking Project Overview of Network
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OAUNet The Obafemi Awolowo University Academic
Network

• In 1994/1995, the ICTP in collaboration with the
  Obafemi Awolowo University established the OAUNet
  in Ile-Ife, Nigeria, as a pilot academic
  information network.
• This was the first university network in Nigeria.
• OAUNet has grown from 2 subnets to over 15
  subnets in a few years.
• Nigerias largest network with over 1000
  computers and more than 6000 users.
• ICTP programme has contributed to the development
  of ICT in Nigeria in the following ways
• Nigerian Universities Network in capacity and
  infrastructure development.
• Assistance to other universities.
• Development of the National IT Policy

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OAUNet contd.

• Private sector involvement in the university by
  establishing cybercafes.
• The university network is also used for capacity
  building, training and infrastructure
  development.
• The Obafemi Awolowo University is presently
  Nigerias largest single collection of IT capable
  persons a critical mass of ICT experts.

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OAUNET - Main Network Diagram
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Main HUB or network
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Technical Assistance to other Universities

• Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA)
• University of Lagos, Yaba
• Lagos State University, Badagry
• University of Agriculture, Abeokuta
• University of Ilorin
• Dept. of Physics, University of Ibadan and
• The College of Education, Ikere-Ekiti
• River State University of Science and Technology

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Recommendations

• In view of the success stories of the ICTP pilot
  ICT programmes in Nigeria and other developing
  countries,
• The ICTP programme on information and
  communication technologies should be fully
  restored, including
• The R D in ICT
• School on Radio Use for Information and
  Communication Technology.
• Establishment of pilot academic information
  network in developing countries.
• Junior Associates, Associates and Senior
  Associates programme in ICT should be supported
  by the ICTP.
• ICT plays a major cross-cutting role in Science
  and Technology RD hence ICTP should recognise
  it as such and accord it necessary recognition.
• For sustainability and revival of Science and
  Technology RD in developing countries, ICTP must
  support ICT development in the developing
  countries.

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Thank you

• Contact Address
• Prof. G.O. Ajayi
• Director General
• National Information Technology Development
  Agency
• Plot 695
• Port Harcourt Crescent
• Off Gimbiya Street
• Area 11
• Garki Abuja
• Tel [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• Email gajayi_at_yahoo.com, gajayi_at_nitda.gov.ng
• Website www.nitda.gov.ng