Higher Education for All (EFA) in Nigeria: The Promise of Open and Distance Learning (ODL)

The social implication for development of educating all citizens of a country cannot be easily quantified. Education is however, seen as an instrument per excellence by many governments the world over, for social and technological development. This paper discusses the Nigeria Government promise of Education for All (EFA), by the year 2015, following the Dakar Declaration of Education for All in the World Education Summit in Dakar, Senegal in the year 2000. It noted the yawning gap between demand for higher education in Nigeria and the average intake per year using the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board statistics for 2005 to 2009 - a five-year period. It further observed that the conventional universities, with restriction on age of entrants, and the limitations of time, infrastructure and space will not enable Nigeria to meet the target of education for all in 2015. And looking at the advantages and successes of mega universities in other and similar regions of the world, the paper draws the attention of the Nigerian Government to the problem above and suggests the use of Open and Distance Learning as an educational delivery system to reach this lofty goal of Education for All in 2015. It concludes that in doing so, Nigeria will be able to meet that aspect of the Millennial Development Goal (MDG). Keywords: Education for all, higher education, access, open and distance learning, mega universities

CRIME RATE PREDICTION USING THE RANDOM FOREST ALGORITHM

  An act that creates crimes punishable by law is characterized as a crime. Rape, fraud, terrorism, kidnapping, burglary, murder, and other crimes are common in Nigeria. Examples are cybercrime, bribery and corruption, robbery, money laundering, among other crimes. Crime is a harmful and widespread social issue that affects individuals all around the world. The rate of crime has risen dramatically in recent years. To cut down on crime, at any rate, law enforcements must take preventative actions. To protect society against crime, modern systems and new technologies are required. Although accurate real-time crime study is on aid in reducing crime rates, they are nonetheless useless. As crime occurrences are dependent on, this is a difficult subject for the scientific community to solve. Therefore, this paper proposes machine learning algorithm to indicate the frequency and pattern of crimes based on the data collected and to show the extent of crime in a particular region. Various visualization approaches and machine learning algorithms are used in this study to anticipate the crime distribution over a large area. In the first stage, raw datasets were processed and visualized according to the requirements. Then, to extract knowledge from these massive datasets, machine learning methods were deployed and uncover hidden patterns in the data, which were then utilized to investigate and report on crime patterns, It is beneficial to crime analysts. Investigate these crime networks using a variety of interactive crime visualizations. As a result, it is helpful in crime prevention

Information about Electronic Governance: A Tool to Curb Corruption in Nigeria

Corruption has been declared to be the cause of poverty and poor standard of living in the Nigeria. This is caused by lack of accountability and transparency in the Government sector, mostly aided by manual accounting system and ordinary paper document in the operation of the sector. Sequel to the evolution of Information and Communication Technology, electronics governance was implemented in Nigeria. Therefore, this study examines the role of electronic governance as a tool for curbing corruption in Nigeria. As such, a survey instrument were administered to 240 civil servants from different public sectors in Nigeria. The findings revealed that, implementation of e-governance has helped to curb corruption in Nigeria and also played a great role in improving efficiency of Nigeria economy. Also this study found that, the need to embrace electronics governance given the phobia exhibited by many Nigerian populace and workforce as to the use of electronics governance

Technical Support: Towards Mitigating Effects of Computer Anxiety on Acceptance of E-Assessment Amongst University Students in Sub Saharan African Countries

Part 1: Technology Adoption, Diffusion and Ubiquitous ComputingInternational audienceThe application of Information technology in educational context and environment has dramatically changed the pattern at which people teach and learn. Institutions of higher learning globally are increasingly adopting e-Assessment as a replacement for traditional pen on paper examination due to its cost effectiveness, improved reliability due to machine marking, accurate and timely assessment. In spite of the numerous benefits of e-assessment, it is unclear if University students in Sub Saharan African Countries are willing to accept it. The purpose of this study is to examine technical support role towards mitigating effects of computer anxiety on electronic assessment amongst University students in Nigeria and Cameroon. Therefore, the study extended Technology Acceptance Model and was validated using 102 responses collected randomly across universities in Nigeria and Cameroon. This study supports the body of knowledge by establishing that Computer Anxiety is an important factor which can affect University students regardless of their level of computer proficiency. The outcome of the proposed model indicated that when technical assistance is provided during e-Assessment, computer anxiety on majority of University students in Nigeria and Cameroon is reduced. The practical implication of this study is that students’ actual academic potentials may not be seen if education policy makers and University administrators do not always strive to ensure that all measures, including technical support that can reduce fear associated with use of computer for assessment, are introduced