e-sRC

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Student administration is one of the most tasking responsibility because every
administrative taskarea is needed to be effectively managed.It is an imperative aspect of
university administration. This involves various activities commencing from the
admission process to learning activities till processing of results and performance
analysis.These services are also targeted at ensuring that students are assisted to be well
informed about the learning processes and other activities they have to undergo in
institution.
There is no doubt, that the rapid growth in educational institution has made Student
Administration become more complex, due to the enormous rise in the number of
students in the universities as well as the multiplicity of programmes have made
university management to handle a very large quantity of data which must be accessed
speedily to provide information for the university administration, National University
Commission (NUC) and Ministry of Education for effective management. Hence, the use
of ICT in the management of student administration in universities becomes imperative.
(Ugomma, Ochai and Obasi, 2014).
The 21st century has witnessed a great transformation and advancement which led to the
development in the administrative system of Nigerian Universities. The application of
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and their adoption in human
endeavor has necessitated a change of procedures and methods that relates to what we do
and how we manage our daily affairs in order to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in
the management of organization and national affairs.ICTs are now vital to support the
business of educational institutions, and support the full academic lifecycle. This include
managing of student‟s initial enquiry about courses, application, module selection,
monitoring and support for the delivery of a course, assignment handling, examination,
room booking, timetabling, library systems and learning management systems. These are
usually done through a central IT system United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO, 2012).
ICT facilitates efficient storing and retrieval of data, instantaneous transmission of
information, processing information and data faster than the earlier manual systems,
speeding up governmental processes, taking decisions expeditiously and judiciously,
increasing transparency and enforcing accountability. It also helps in increasing the reach
of government both geographically and demographically (Kolhe, 2016). Thus, the
information and communication technology has brought a sweeping change that has
eliminated the geographical barriers between nations and also improved global
interconnections of countries as if countries were living next door.
The Federal Government of Nigeria has since 2001 taken noticeable step to put the
country on track in the area of Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
development and utilization in governance. In March 2001, the Nigeria government
launched her National information technology Policy and thereafter, began the
implementation with the establishment of National Information Technology
Development Agency (NITDA). Before 2011, different agencies were responsible for
various aspects of ICT development in Nigeria. In 2011 Nigeria created a new Ministry
of Communications Technology at the Federal level. The ministry is charged with the
responsibility of coordinating ICT development, and drive the nation‟s e-government
agenda (Omeire & Omeire, 2014).The goal of the Framework and Guidelines for ICT
adoption in Nigerian tertiary institutions is to provide a flexible and comprehensive
general framework for the deployment of ICT tools in Nigerian tertiary institutions for
the effective and efficient support of the core business processes of teaching, learning,
research and administration. (NITDA, 2019)
Technological revolution is what is changing our institutions of higher learning at a high
speedy rate. The National Universities Commission (NUC) has brought changes into the
administration of higher institutions that will enable Nigerian Universities to compete
with others across the globe. In compliance with the directives, majority of the Nigerian
Universities deployed the student‟s administrative software that would enable students
carry out their registration processes through the electronic media (Aimufua and Fatokun,
2007).
The online service delivery found its way into the Nigerian education system over a
decade ago, from early 2003. Prior to this time, library services,
registration/accommodation of students, examinations and other student services were
done manually involving the filling of several forms. However, almost all the educational
institutions have moved into digital era, of menu-driven ultra-robust specialized online
service delivery. The electronic internet has presented itself as a veritable source of
information and channel of communication that has enabled student, staff and researchers
access all sort of relevant data and information (Faiku, Awoleye, Oyebisi, 2020). It is
crystal clear that the application of electronic internet services in all facets of life has
become a subject of fundamental and concerns all operating within Nigeria.It is therefore
certain that ICT has created a new window for the administration of university system in
Nigeria.
The application of ICT on student administration is an antidote to student personnel
problems that would have been difficult, if not impossible to solve through human effort
(Ugomma, Godwin and Obasi ,2014). Commenting on the areas of educational
administration where ICT can be implemented for efficient working of institutions,
Ahmad (2011) opined that ICT can be used to maintain the personal record information
of the students. ICT according to him can also be useful in maintaining the record of
enrolment and attendance/leave information, fees management and examination
performance and analysis can be done efficiently through ICT.
Ahmadu Bello University Zaria took a bold step and established its ICT infrastructure in
August 2002 with a fast set-up radio based on wireless local-loop technology. To meet
the current challenges in the provision of Internet facility to the University Community,
the university established the Information and Communication Technology Directorate
(ICTD) which is a centrally organized, service oriented unit responsible for the day-today implementation and attainment of the university ICT objectives and policies such as
delivering of services. The primary tasks of the directorate are management and
maintenance of common ICT systems and end-user support (Gbaje, 2010).
Furthermore, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria had a vision of establishing a costeffective Information and Communication Technology (ICT) base that would support the
emergence and sustenance of a competitive world-class teaching, learning and research
environment that would break new grounds in dissemination of knowledge and
information of the highest quality. In line with this vision,the university switched the
student registration and accommodation to the electronic means during the 2006/2007
academic session and afterward an electronic library was also established (MTN
University connect) to ease the student research and learning. The University deployed
37km optic-fibre network linking the major University campuses. (SAD, 2017)
During the ABU Governing Council, at its 150th meeting on 25th June 2013, approved
the merger of Information and Communication Technology Directorate and Iya
Computer Centre into a single entity to be known and called “Institute of Computing &
Information and Communication Technology” (ICICT) (Nuraddeen ,2015:Mustapha,
2015). The ICICT is saddled with the responsibility of providing timely and qualitative
computing information and technology services. ICTs are applied in different areas in
Ahmadu Bello University, such as Personnel administration, student administration,
various resources administration, financial administration, general administration and
library system.
However, Inspite of the bold steps taken by the institution, it is worthy of mention here
that there are some challenges that undermine the effectiveness of student administration.
Access to internet server is grossly inefficient, sometimes, making it impossible to
download the required website for registration and others. Very often, the bank details
are delayed in the process of transfer to the school portal to enable the student embark on
registration and also have access to hostel bed space.
Olofin and Aniede (2015) stated that majority of the Nigerian Universities are facing
huge challenges on the usageof information and communication technology. This is as a
result of various factors which include but not limited to cost of internet data and
electronic services, fear of change, computer illiteracy, fear of being made redundant,
lack of facilities in the library, poor internet and electronic security, inconsistency in
electricity supply and the need for continuous training of staff. It is against this
background that this study seeks to examinetheeffect ofInformation and Communication
Technology(ICT) on student administration in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria with
special focus onstudent registration, student accommodation and library Services. For
this services to be rendered to student efficiently, effectively and timely, ABU Zaria
converted these services from the manual method to the electronic means. Consequently,
students can register and reserve hostel accommodation bed space online and also have
access to library resources using electronic means.
1.2 Statement of the Research Problem
Ahmadu Bello University Zaria provides a variety of services to the students throughout
their academic studies to achieve full academic and personal potentials.With ICT, student
administration inHigher Education Institutions (HEIs) have become much easier. ICT has
brought transformation and efficiency in the way many administrative tasks are handled.
It has changed how information is processed, stored and managed, document processing,
and other activities less burdensome. It has also made information transfer easier and
information about an institution can now be easily disseminated to the entire world.
Currently, ABU Zaria operates electronically in areas such as; course registration, fee
payment, reservation of hostel accommodation bed space,checking of results online and
so on. It has also made access to the institution easy.Hence,applicants can now process
admission, and other services online. All these activities are shouldered on Institute of
Computing and Information and Communication Technology (ICICT).In order to
strengthen the internet services in ABU, the deployed a robust optic fibre network,
linking the major University campuses. Thus, the campus optic fibre network spreads up
to 37km with all major buildings connected and a metropolitan stretch that covers all the
campuses in A.B.U. Based on the above, it was anticipated that with a computerized
system in place, it would result into effectiveness and efficiency in the student
administration.
However, despitethe bold steps taken by Ahmadu Bello University in the application of
ICT on student administration, there perceived some challenges encountered such as poor
network service delivery. Both the staff and the student do complain of slow transaction,
slow sever network,that is, poor internet connectivity, lack of accessibility to the school
portal particularly during the school hours. In this circumstances, services delivery is
likely to be undermined in the institution particularly during student
registration,reservation of hostel accommodation bed space and e-library services due to
the poor internet services.
Oboegbulum and Godwin (2013), conducted a study on Application of ICT in
management of Universities in the North Central State of Nigeria, with special
consideration on ICT tools like computer, internet satellite, and other telecommunication
technologies that can aid for university management in the institutions such as teaching,
learning, registration and accommodation processes. The study failed to include the
application of ICT in the e- library, which constitute one of the most important aspects of
student administration in the University. More so studying the whole universities in one
geo- political zone is too enormous and as such, it would be difficult to make
generalization. Faith and Imelda (2017) on their own part conducted a study on ICT and
effective management of student academic records in Cross River University of
Technology (CRUTECH). Ahmed (2009) conducted a study on the use of ICT in private
universities in Bangladesh. It was discovered that ICT was used for managing the
administrative processes by almost all the privateuniversities. According to the study,
ICT were used in student enrolments, student recordkeeping, accounts, general
administration, and library maintenance.The study assessed the infrastructural facilities
utilized in administrative process in the institution such as student enrollment, student
record keeping, account and general administration, without looking at other important
areas of student administration such as e- registration and e- accommodation. however,
none of these studies assessed the effect of ICT on student administration in ABU
Zaria.In light of the above, the study tends to fill this gap by assessing the effect of ICT
on student administration with special focus on student registration, student
accommodation and library services system in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
1.3 Research Questions
Arising from the discussion of the research problem, the study is guided by the following
research questions:
i. How has ICTaffect studentregistration in Ahmadu Bello University Zaria?
ii. What is the effect of ICT on student accommodation inAhmadu Bello
University Zaria?
iii. To what extent does ICT affect Library services in Ahmadu Bello University
Zaria?