Vice-Chancellors Call for 35% Increase in Educational Technology

Kuni Tyessi in Abuja   

The Secretary of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, Professor Yakubu Ochefu, has called for 35 per cent increase in the use of educational technology over the next two years.

Ochefu made this known at the public unveiling and launching of Tertiary Education Research, Applications and Services (TERAS) in Abuja.

He said that increased use of educational technology is necessary to bridge the digital divide in the education sector.

He stressed the need for the minister of Education to ensure that TERAS is accessible to all Nigerians as a research platform because it is built on the public educational platform and should be accessible to all Nigerians for it to rank among the top repositories in the whole globe.

“I know to do that requires additional investment, that is why the stakeholders are requesting for an increase in the quantum of funding for ICT to be able to cover new advances an increase in up to 35 per cent for educational technology for the next two years,” Ochefu said.

Earlier in his remarks, the Executive Secretary of TETFund, Mr. Sonny Echono, said that “TERAS has its origins in the challenging days of the COVID-19 pandemic, a period when our nation and our education system ground to a halt. The impact was profound, but it also catalysed action.

“Government, recognising the need to mitigate disruptions in education, swiftly set in motion a series of policies and directives through the Federal Ministry of Education. These initial steps have now culminated in the creation of TERAS, the groundbreaking platform we present today.

“TERAS has been meticulously designed to seamlessly integrate various essential components. First is identity management through Beneficiary Identity Management System (BIMS) followed by a federated academic repository to address critical challenges faced by students, researchers and institutions in accessing educational resources and research materials.”