Teaching and Research Functions in Nigerian Universities: How Many Lecturers Use the Internet?

Abstract

The paper examined the usability rate of the internet for teaching and research amongst Nigerian university lecturers. Four research questions were raised to guide investigation out of which one (1) was answered and the remaining three hypothesized. A questionnaire titled: University Teachers’ Use of Internet-ready PCSs for Teaching and Research Purposes Questionnaire (UTIRAQUE) was administered on a sample of 4808 (i.e 10 percent) out of 48083 lecturers in 127 universiteis that constituted the study population. Administration of the validated and reliable instrument (r=.72; N = 20) with the help of ASUU Secretaries and university Registrars that served as research assistants lasted for 28 weeks. The data analysed using descriptive statistics revealed that 1 out of every 54 lecturers or only 1.85% Nigerian university lecturers use the internet for teaching and research. The result also shows lack of significant difference in the frequency of usage amongst different categories of lecturers. Based on the findings, it was recommended that every university lecturer be encouraged to be computer/internet literate by providing them with internet-ready PCs at no cost after training.

DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2014.v4n3p173