IS VIRTUAL LEARNING REALLY THE FUTURE?


A long break it indeed was! It is only right that we wish you a warm academic session. The long wait for the re-opening of schools seems to be finally over, many thanks to the virtual learning system, else we would have found ourselves waiting till forever. The story of how COVID-19 dealt with the world, forced everyone to retreat into the safety of their homes and made every one connect with the rest of the world through the internet is not alien. The realities we have had to deal in the last one year are more than convincing that the digital world is finally here to stay. This new reality will not leave us unaffected, as all human activities that traditionally depend on physical gatherings to thrive—schools, religious gatherings, business, parties—have had their survival catapulted into the digital space.
Schools have fairly shared of this reality as they were locked for months. While academic activities in advanced countries swiftly transitioned to the virtual space, they were completely halted here in Nigeria. This is primarily because schools only exist physically here; and at that time, the country was not prepared for virtual schooling— except private institutions who had the resources to operate virtual schools. However, the uncertainty that clouds when the COVID-19 pandemic will end put the government and public institutions in a dilemma—school cannot be reopened, yet, they cannot remained closed— which virtual learning appears to be the only way out of. The traditional means of learning in Nigeria has indeed been radically challenged as the University of Ibadan, as well as other tertiary institutions, has decided to adopt virtual learning. What does this say? Is virtual learning then the future of education in Nigeria?
Apparently, education will not be the same anymore. Nigeria, is however not ready for this change. Like many other countries, Nigeria has been forced to stretch its digital limits and adapt to a system that was highly unprepared for. The introduction of virtual learning fosters the marriage between education and technology. No one prepared for it, yet, everyone needs to catch up very fast.
The flexibility that comes with virtual learning is probably one of the most amazing things about it. Teaching and learning are not restricted to time and geographical setting. Asides being a solution to the perennial restriction of time and space, students can go over recorded lectures over and over, which is not the case with the traditional mode.
Asides flexibility, virtual learning encourages innovations. Through the development of human capabilities through the use of technology, virtual learning encourages the development of innovative ideas and increases the chances of academic excellence. Teachers and students become more tech savvy, thereby, encouraging these possibilities.
We cannot deny that there are challenges, in fact, a lot of challenges to be dealt with in confronting this new reality. First, the country’s unpreparedness for this phase raises so much concern. Asides the challenges that will arise from Nigeria’s digital limitations, there are immediate challenges to deal with. Power supply is one of those. Undisputedly, every student needs a constant supply of power, now, more than ever. If online classes are to be any effective, power supply should be at least constant. The unfortunate thing is that the country’s supply of power is unreliable and poor. The story of Nigeria’s erratic power supply is not new; it has always been a terrible cause for concern. Students can only manage by using alternative means of power supply— generating sets, power banks— which they shouldn’t need to use in the first place. The problem of power supply and the use of alternative means of power exposes yet another problem— how any students can afford to use these alternatives? In a country where over 70% of the population live below $1, many homes cannot meet the financial requirements of virtual learning. With no access to free Wi-Fi, poor network services, rising cost of data subscriptions, it will be quite difficult for average income earing students to effectively learn over the internet.
While the existence of these challenges are not overlooked, it is believed that technology can bring an overwhelming improvement to the standards of education in Nigeria. It will take time, but with the right energy and drive; it will happen.