The Kaduna State Government has reiterated its commitment to improve Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure in its tertiary institutions to boost education.
The Commissioner of Education, Dr Shehu Makarfi, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna on Wednesday.
Makarfi explained that the ICT upgrade will be met through the development and deployment of Enhanced State Education Management Information System (eSEMIS).
He said that the move was to leverage on ICT, to improve the education delivery system, with a view to provide quality education in line with global best practices.
He said that the eSEMIS, comprised of e-learning system, Student Information System (SIS), Human Resources Management System (HRMS), Digital Archival System (DAS), Integrated Library Management System (ILMS) and a Clinic Management System (CMS).
He added that the eSEMIS and the ICT upgrade, which were being developed in partnership with Staunton and Lycett Nigeria Ltd. were at various completion stage in all the state-owned tertiary institutions.
He identified the institution as Kaduna State University, Kaduna State College of Nursing and Midwifery, Kaduna State College of Education, Nuhu Bamali Polytechnic, and Shehu Idris College of Health Sciences and Technology.
The commissioner said that the project would leverage on online platforms to ensure that students were provided with qualitative education in the state-owned tertiary institutions.
“It will also provide a mechanism for end-to-end running of all educational activities within the tertiary institutions.
“It also aims to assist education managers and administrators both at the institutions and ministries, departments and agencies, to work optimally with a clear view of the institution operations within their domain,” he said.
According to the Commissioner, the e-learning system had been fully developed in all the tertiary institutions, adding that most of the lecture notes have been converted into e-courseware format.
“Several digital contents have been included in the new courseware, including multimedia content and so far, the development of SIS, HRMS, ILMS, CMS and DAS in all the institutions have been completed.
“The development of the e-learning systems in all the tertiary institutions are at the completion stage, while internet service in the institutions will be provided by Airtel Nigeria.
“All students have been registered on the e-learning platform and the institutions will soon join Kaduna State University in delivering quality e-learning,” he said.
Makarfi pointed out that when the eSEMIS was fully deployed, students would be able to log in to the system, read content, watch videos, complete short quizzes, and submit assignments.
He explained that the system was configured to automatically grade assignments, while plagiarism tools to ensure academic integrity would be installed in the coming weeks.
Mr Ola Ojajuni, Chief Executive Officer, Staunton, and Lycett Nigeria Ltd. told NAN that the project, which began in 2018, was designed to reposition the state’s tertiary institution to world class standard.
Ojajuni said that when completed, the project would not only change how students and lecturers interact, but also how education was being delivered.
According to him, all education institutions need critical infrastructure, both hardware and software to be able to develop its ICT to optimal level.
“Therefore, under the partnership, every building and department in the state’s tertiary institutions will be inter-connected by fibre, including a total WiFi coverage as backup.
“This will provide lecturers and students 24 hours access to fast internet connectivity at 155 megabyte per second, thereby, providing students time to research and study.
“Also, every document in all the institutions would be converted into an electronic format, while a data centre will be developed for every institution with each of them serving as a backup to another.”
He said that when all the ICT infrastructure were put in place, officials and relevant stakeholders would be able to access performance of each institution.
“The stakeholders will be able to do this using various visualisation tools from the comfort of their offices,” he added.
Ojajuni said that all the lecturers of the tertiary institutions were currently undergoing training on how to use the e-learning system.
