An Assessment of the Capacity‐Building Programme on Information and Communication Technology, Organized by the Education Tax Fund, Nigeria
| Date | 01 January 2006 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/07419050610653931 |
| Published date | 01 January 2006 |
| Pages | 22-26 |
| Author | Stephen Osahon Uwaifo,Gracious Chukwunweike Omede |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science |
An Assessment of the Capacity-Building
Programme on Information and Communication
Technology, Organized by the Education Tax
Fund, Nigeria
Stephen Osahon Uwaifo and Gracious Chukwunweike Omede
22 LIBRARY HITECH NEWS Number 1 2006, pp. 22-26, #Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 0741-9058, DOI 10.1108/07419050610653931
Introduction
The imperativeness of information
in general and information and
communication technologies (ICT) in
particular cannot be overemphasized.
Therefore, it has been pointed out that
countries which have given relatively
little attention to the adoption and use
of IT are lagging behind in the business
of spreading education through the use
of the latest technology (Rajesh, 2003).
Tiamiyu (2000) identifies eight of the
benefits accruing from digitalization:
(1) Elimination of duplication in data
entry operations.
(2) Improvement in the control of
operations.
(3) Error reduction in data handling
operations.
(4) Improvement in the speed of
operations or services.
(5) Increased range and depth of
service.
(6) Reduction in staff costs.
(7) Improved staff morale and prestige.
(8) Enhanced capability to share bib-
liographic data and resources with
other libraries.
In a related development, it has been
observed that science and technology,
education, banking and finance, media,
building construction, recreation and
security are among the numerous areas
to which information technology has
been applied universally (Oketunji,
2001).
Nwalo (2000) emphasizes that, in
order to satisfy the legitimate aspiration
of people for rapid socio-political
coupled with economic development,
librarians are likely to have very little
choice but to apply ICT in this twenty-
first century. While writing on the
nature of the twenty-first century,
Curran (2001) opines that ``we live in a
world where information comes
increasingly in digitized format,
available anytime and anywhere for
anyone with a computer and internet
access.'' In a related development,
Ajayi et al. (20001) assert that, ``as
technological progress produces more
capable and less expensive IT, there is a
strong impetus towards developing and
using computer systems in all human
activities.'' Despite the benefits
accruing from ICT, Atinmo (2000)
believes that Nigeria is enjoying only a
sprinkling of global information.
There are a wide range of
impediments against the effective use
of information technology in Africa in
general and Nigeria in particular. Jessen
(1997) identifies and discusses nine
factors that impede the use of electronic
information in Africa. They include:
(1) Low level of computerization in
most counties.
(2) Scarcity of computers.
(3) Lack of proper guidelines on the
use of computer facilities.
(4) Limited training and lack of skilled
manpower.
(5) Lack of mechanisms to improve
collaboration in areas of electronic
networking.
(6) Vandalism of network infrastruc-
ture (i.e. copper telephone lines).
(7) High import duties on computer
and communication equipment.
(8) High price of internet services in
some countries.
(9) Lack of internet band-with.
Some of the above problems call for
the need to put in place an enduring
capacity building programme on ICT
for African countries. The Nigerian
Education Tax Fund (ETF) established
by the federal government took a giant
stride by putting in place a training
programme it tagged, ``ICT capacity
building programme.'' The ETF was
established under Act No. 7 of 1993 and
amended by the Act No. 40 of 1988,
with project management to improve
the quality of Education in Nigeria. In
order for the ETF to achieve its
objectives, it imposes a 2 percent
education tax on every assessable profit
of the various registered companies in
Nigeria (ETF, 2005).
The Education Tax Fund's structure
has two segments: the Board of
Trustees and Secretariat. According to
the ETF, "the Fund is managed by an 11
member board of trustees headed by
Chief (Mrs) Olutoyin Olakunri OFR
with members drawn from the six-geo-
political zones of the country as well as
representatives of the Federal
Ministries of Education, Finance and
the Inland Revenue Service. The
Secretariat is headed by the Executive
Secretary, who is the Chief Executive
and the Accounting Officer of the Fund.
The Information Technology Unit of
the Education Tax Fund organizes the
Capacity Building Programme on ICT.
The timetable and content area for this
year's training programme in the south
south geo-political zone of Nigeria is
presented in Table I.
Objectives of the study
The objectives of this study
specifically include the following:
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