Efficiency of Online Education in Nigeria during COVID-19 Pandemic Period

Abstract

In this article, the effectiveness of emergency online education introduced by the Federal Government of Nigeria during the period of the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic has been investigated. The effectiveness of online education has been compared to the traditional classroom teaching. A survey was carried out to gather information on the experiences and opinions of students about the virtual education. A two-sample t-test and a Wilcoxon rank-sum test of hypotheses were carried out to investigate if there were significant differences in the responses of male and female to the ratings of the virtual education and the financial cost of weekly internet subscription respectively. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Kruskal Wallis rank test were also used to investigate if there were significant differences across the academic levels in the ratings of the virtual classes and the financial cost of weekly internet subscription respectively. The study showed that the virtual education was generally effective except for few challenges encountered by the students. The challenges include high cost of internet subscription, poor internet connectivity, unstable electricity supply, lack of adequate computer skills for students and inadequate orientation about the online classes.