ICT in teacher training in Nigeria: problems and prospects

Ahmed Modibbo Mohammed
National Teachers' Institute
Kaduna, Nigeria

Advances in information and communication technology (ICT) have had an impact on education in several ways, including the expansion of educational opportunities beyond the conventional educational institutions and the improvement of the quality of teaching and learning.

In Nigeria, there is a huge demand for education at all levels which the existing traditional institutions cannot meet, which has led to, for example, overcrowded classrooms, under-resourced schools and an acute shortage of qualified teachers -- all of which, in turn, have had a negative effect on the standards of teaching and learning. Without resources to build and equip the required number of conventional schools and colleges, distance education was adopted as an alternative educational delivery mode at tertiary level and for teacher development.

In distance education, the use of technology can mediate between learners on the one hand and the institutions and teachers on the other. However, the absence of the necessary infrastructure in Nigeria has limited the use of some types of ICT in educational delivery. In general, computer-based learning is not a widely used strategy as access to Internet facilities is limited, but despite the difficulties, educational institutions still make use of some technology to deliver and manage their programmes.

This paper discusses the extent to which ICT is used in the teacher training programmes of the National Teachers' Institute in Nigeria and the associated problems. The paper also considers the prospects for increased use of ICT in education in the country.