General
Unit 7
Hello. Welcome to Unit 7 of this course: ICT in education policy. We are going to learn about concepts relating to ICT in education as provided in the policy document of ICT in education, Nigeria. We will also identify the objectives of this policy guideline, its vision and mission and challenges of implementation of ICT in education in curriculum.
ICTs have undoubtedly affected the field of education. In a bid to enhance modern teaching, learning, and research in schools across the country, the Federal Government of Nigeria launched a national policy on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the nation’s education sector in May 2019. The National Policy on ICT in Education was informed by the need to have a standardised and coordinated deployment of ICT in Education.
By the end of the unit, you will be able to:
- discuss the national policy on ICT in education
- explain the benefits of using the national policy on ICT in education
- analyse the challenges to the implementation of the ICT policy in the curriculum
- state the solutions to implementing the ICT policy in the curriculum
- explain how the ICT policy impacts classroom practices.
1. Please work through the following resources in sequence
The National Policy on Information and Communication Technologies in Education 2019
The Nigerian National ICT Policy 2019 seeks to provide the needed guidance on expectations from all stakeholders in the entire process of ICT integration in Education in Nigeria. Its implementation will lead to a speedy transformation of teaching, learning, research, and education administration in Nigeria.
The need to have a standardised and coordinated deployment of ICT in Education led to the development of the National Policy on ICT in Education 2019. The 2019 policy “identifies the critical role of ICT towards the attainment of the National Vision within the context of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the National Policy on Education, Ministerial Strategic Plan: Education for Change and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The policy thrust devolves into several focal areas geared at ensuring the attainment of qualitative education for the enhancement of sustainable socio-economic development, global competitiveness and the individual’s development and fulfillment (NPE 2019, p.v.) ”
Objectives of the National Policy on ICT in Education
The objectives of ICT in Education as provided in the National Policy of ICT in Education 2019 are:
- To facilitate the teaching and learning processes.
- To promote problem-solving, critical thinking and innovative skills.
- To promote life-long learning and advance knowledge.
- To enhance the various teaching/learning strategies required to meet the needs of the population.
- To foster research and development.
- To support effective and efficient education administration.
- To enhance universal access to information.
- To widen access to education and the range of instructional options and opportunities for any-where, any-time, any-pace, and any-path learning.
- To promote commercialisation of ICT in Education.
- To develop and support technical infrastructure that maximises digital creativity, sharing and innovation.
The notable increase in the social use of ICTs and their enormous impact is an aspect that cannot be overlooked in the world of education. The ICT policy provides the needed guidance on expectations from all stakeholders in the entire process of ICT integration in education. Its implementation has the following benefits as shown in the video below
The Vision and Mission for ICT in Education in Nigeria
The vision and mission for ICT in education resolves the policy thrust into the following seven focal areas:
- Human Capital Development
- Infrastructure
- Research and Development
- Awareness and Communication
- Governance
- Financing
- Monitoring & Evaluation
The document below is to further enhance your study.
http://unescoictcft.nbatesting.co.za/mod/page/view.php?id=972
As we end this unit, we must state that the increased use of ICT comes with some risks, however, the government of Nigeria has in place the Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy to protect users of the web.
The Nigerian government considers qualitative education a key component of its developmental agenda. The development of the human capital for realising the national vision needs to be enhanced by a new set of knowledge, skills and attitude, and the individual citizen needs to be fully equipped to be competitive as well as meet the challenges of the emergent environment. This implies a robust consideration for the integration of ICT into the education curriculum.
- Explain the importance of having a national ICT policy on education.
- As a teacher, how do you use ICT to deliver on the curriculum in your classroom?
- State the solution to some of the identified challenges of using ICT in education in Nigeria.
REFERENCES/FURTHER READING
Federal Ministry of Education, Nigeria (2019). National Policy on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Education.
Federal Ministry of Education, Nigeria (2019). National Implementation Guidelines for ICT in Education.
Federal Republic of Nigeria (2021). National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy.
Yusuf, M.O. (2011). Information and Communication Education: Analysing the Nigerian National Policy for Information Technology. International Education Journal 6(3), 316-321.
UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000265721
Course: Unit 1: Policy Understanding (nbatesting.co.za)
Course: Unit 08 - ICT & Policy (moodlecloud.com)
ICT Essentials for Teachers (Nigeria) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
This course was made possible with the financial support of UNESCO.
