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Abstract:
The importance of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in education and health cannot be over emphasised. Technology use has permeated areas of learning, teaching, research, and socio-economic aspects of our lives. The purpose of this study was to evaluate quality of programs offered by the institutions affiliated to the University for Accreditation Purposes. The study explored four (4) main sections; namely, availability of computers and computer laboratories, Internet and Web-based application, Technology Training, as well as Support and Maintenance. A total of eleven (11) institutions across the country were assessed by experts from various fields led by an IT specialist. Experts consisted of members with various professional backgrounds who carried out the assessment and reached conclusions about the status of each institution. The findings revealed that, health training institutions managed by the Ministry of Health were well equipped with technology resources and ICT infrastructure to facilitate educational transformation. The resources included amongst others, computers and computers laboratories. The colleges of education administered under the Department of Teacher Training and Development, were found to be unsatisfactorily resourced. In general, most of the computers were obsolete and computer labs were in a deplorable state. Across all the affiliated institutions it was observed that, more efforts should be put into upgrading bandwidths and coming up with staff development programmes that would equip lecturers with the knowledge and skills of effectively applying technology in their instructional activities. Furthermore, technical support and maintenance was found to be crucial and required immediate attention to avoid high risk of technical breakdown.
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