COVID-19 and Higher Education in Nigeria: The Present and the Future

Abstract

The surge of COVID-19 pandemic in December, 2019 became an issue of concern to everyone globally including Nigerians. Its sporadic spread into the human environment entrenched awful experiences in all facets of life across the countries of the world. This is a type of virus also traceable to animals but now is ravaging the human environment as a new strain of coronavirus that makes it to be zoonotic in nature. To contain the spread of the virus ushered in some preventive policies and strategies in every people’s gathering including higher educational institutions. The alternative option to forestall and contain the spread of the virus in institutions of higher learning was to embrace the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) devices in the teaching and learning activities. Against the background, this study examined the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on the present and the future of higher education in Nigeria. It identified the present state of Nigeria’s higher educational institutions in the face of COVID-19 pandemic disease, the use of ICT in the teaching-learning activities in the higher education institutions and what the future of higher educational institutions portends. Arising from all these, conclusion was drawn and recommendations were given to include: Government should be ready to provide more infrastructural facilities such as physical facilities like buildings amongst others; and the ICT facilities/equipment in the tertiary institutions of learning should be upgraded to meet the global standard.