Role Of Information And Communication Technology (Ict) On Quality Management Of The Universal Basic Education Programme In Rivers State
Hillary Wordu
Faculty of Education, Rivers State University, Nkpolu-Oroworukw, Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Precious Uloma Ugbari
Faculty of Education, Rivers State University, Nkpolu-Oroworukw, Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Ayibaina Blessing Duba
Faculty of Education, Rivers State University, Nkpolu-Oroworukw, Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Keywords: Information and communication technology, quality management, universal basic education
Abstract
The study investigated the role of Informaþon and Communication Technology on quality management of the Universal Basic Education (UBE) programme in Rivers State. The design used for the study is descriptive survey.The population of the study was 40 administrative staff of the UBE programme, which included 15 school principals in junior secondary schools. Census sampling technique was used since the population was manageable.The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire constructed by the researchers. The structure followed the four point Likert rating scale type. The questionnaire was validated by two experts in the field of Information and Communication Technology and Programme Management and the reliability of the instrument was 0.82 using cronbach alpha method. Data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions. The decision to accept an item's score was guided by a criterion mean of 2.50, which means that any item of 2.50 and above was taken to mean that the respondent accepted the item while a mean score of 2.49 and below were rejected. The study found that Information and Communication Technology was applied for effective quality management of the universal basic education programme in Rivers State. The study also found that to a high extent staff of the programme were equipped with ICT literacy skills for effective management of the universal basic education programme in Rivers State. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended among others that the programme management should be provided with more ICT tools for quality programme planning and management, especially in the area of programme supervision and evaluation. It was also recommended that more opportunities should be provided for ICT skills I the areas of Web design, Computer networking, Video conferencing, use of Digital cameras, knowledge of Copyright laws and, Cyber security