Introduction
The Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities(ASUU) is a trade union and a union of intellectuals seeking not only the socio-political and economic welfare interest of its members within the framework of promoting the cause of university education in Nigeria but the entire good of Nigerians and Nigeria. Since February 14 this year, students in public universities have been at home, as academic activities have been put on hold following the strike by members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU. Other staff unions in the university sector have also joined the wagon of embarking on industrial action. The unions are demanding better welfare packages, more funds to run the universities, a stop to the indiscriminate setting up of new universities, the discontinuation of the use of the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System, IPPIS, as the payment platform in the university system among others. A series of meetings have been held between the government and the unions, but so far nothing tangible has come out of those meetings. However, from the sublime to the ridiculous, the idle students have now engaged in various activities to while away the time.
The President of Nigeria, President Buhari, recently received the governors of APC, representatives from political parties and other notable figures at his residence in Alausa. During their meeting, President Buhari discussed with the delegation matters related to their current dispute with Minister Umar who is (reportedly) under investigation for his actions during his time as a university student in London. The president asked them all to continue negotiations following talks that have been held between Mr. Umar and Mr. Tanimu while they are in school so they will be well educated enough in the future to contribute to society themselves being that strikes have unfortunately had a negative effect on items like grade point averages which require students’ full attention and without them, there would be no improvement or progress within their institutions let alone their country as a whole.
Nigerian student’s unending plight
The president gave a speech, where he addressed the issue of students not going to school. “We hope that ASUU will sympathize with the people on strike and let them return to school. We understand that it’s difficult for the lecturers to keep their job, but it’s time they reconsider in order to avoid hurting our future generation.” The president asked all well-meaning Nigerians to convince the participants of this strike, who are against having a new pension plan, not to threaten students’ future because, without new generations, we will be left with nothing but competition from other countries in the world. Nigerian students in the University have described how they feel about being at home at the moment. “First and foremost, this strike period is boring President Muhammadu Buhari, Monday in Daura, Katsina State, called on the Academic Staff Union of Universities to reconsider their position on the prolonged strike, expressing worry that the hiatus will have generational consequences on families’ future development of the country. The president made this plea while revealing that he has a long-standing plan to eliminate corruption in the Nigerian education system. He said: “Individually we need to build a responsive and creative attitude. We need to build up our consciences so that they will alert us when we are about to do something wrong.
The benefits of technology in Education
Colonial-type education used to be geared towards preparing people to hold jobs in industries that no longer exist. That is why the youth these days should focus instead on acquiring the tools they need to become self-employed entrepreneurs. However, many today place so much emphasis on getting a college degree because it seems like the only way now to land a respectable job with benefits. Technology provides students with easy-to-access information, accelerated learning, and fun opportunities to practice what they learn. It can also help educators keep track of each student’s progress and customize their educational experience based on individualized needs. Learning about new topics and concepts can help students strengthen their understanding of STEM. In fact, studies show that learning through technology inside or outside of the classroom during class hours has proven to be effective. Children acquiring knowledge this way are able to absorb more while maintaining an active interest throughout the lesson. Other benefits are as follows :
- Immersive learning. You probably agree with us that classroom learning is not only about chalkboards and textbooks
- Gamification
- Accessible long-distance learning
- Personalized education experience
- Student preferred
- A blended learning environment
- Better engagement. How important is technology in education can’t be over-emphasized, The COVID-19 pandemic is quickly demonstrating why online education should be a vital part of teaching and learning. By integrating technology into existing curricula, as opposed to using it solely as a crisis-management tool, teachers can harness online learning as a powerful educational tool. The effective use of digital learning tools in classrooms can increase student engagement, help teachers improve their lesson plans, and facilitate personalized learning. It also helps students build essential 21st-century skills. Virtual classrooms, video, augmented reality (AR), robots, and other technology tools can not only make the class more lively, but they can also create more inclusive learning environments that foster collaboration and inquisitiveness and enable teachers to collect data on students’ performance. Still, it’s important to note that technology is a tool used in education and not an end in itself. The promise of educational technology lies in what educators do with it and how it is used to best support their students’ needs.
conclusion
lecturers can leverage technology to achieve new levels of productivity, implement useful digital tools to expand learning opportunities for students, and increase student support and engagement. It also enables teachers to improve their instruction methods and personalize learning. Schools can benefit from technology by reducing the costs of physical instructional materials. Moreover, it allows the teacher to maximize the limited school time available and reduce the class size by means of video conferencing.
