Virtual Teaching, Learning and Sustainable Development in Nigeria: Issues, Challenges and Prospects

Abstract

Education, irrespective of the way it is acquired, underlies the development of 
all nations of the world. Online strategies of acquiring education, such as 
virtual or e-learning, which are the twenty-first Century approaches to 
education delivery; are particularly important in countries bedeviled with staff 
union strikes, like Nigeria. Depending on the cause(s) of the strikes, learning 
can continue online between tutors and students. Virtual teaching and 
learning take place in virtual classrooms, where tutors and students may not 
face one another. Teaching and learning, including tests, assignments and 
other classroom activities, are conducted online, where computer and internet 
facilities are available. This is practised in developed countries and can also be 
practiced in developing countries like Nigeria, provided education can be well 
funded, corruption reduced and virtual classrooms can be established. If 
Nigeria is to participate in virtual teaching and learning, education must be 
funded generously, develop the political will to embark on virtual education 
programmes, provide computers and internet services all over the country and 
train teachers that will handle the programme adequately. Unless and until 
the steps listed above are taken, it may be difficult, if not impossible, to 
embark on virtual teaching and learning in Nigeria.