International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering
Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, Volume 2, Issue 10, October 2012)
INTERNET ACCESS IN NIGERIA: PERCEPTION OF
NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA (NOUN)
STUDENTS
Francis Osang
National Open University of Nigeria, Lagos, Nigeria And Ph. D Student ICT University, Baton Rouge, USA.
Facilitations and examinations are held at the study
centres. Due to the nationwide spread of the Institution and
the opportunities which ICT offers as a catalyst in the
delivery of open and distance learning, it is currently used
in almost all the stages of the students’ study circle namely
the application stage, the admission stage, the Registration,
the learning stage, the evaluation stage and the transcript
stage. In all these stages, the students are expected to be
online (except the evaluation stage for now) in order to
carry out these activities.
In addition, course materials are also hosted on the
website for downloading by the registered students. Tutor
marked assessment (TMA) are taken online in real time
mode. Each of the courses has four TMAs with twenty
questions in each TMA. This implies that a student with
eight courses must take 32 TMAs to form the 30% of the
student’s continuous assessment. It therefore means that
every NOUN student spends quality time on the internet.
But with the high cost associated with access to the
internet (mostly available in the cities) in Nigeria, the
absence of internet infrastructure in the rural communities
where most of the students reside, and the demand for these
students to be connected to the internet for their academic
activities, calls for attention. How do these students cope
with such difficulties?
Abstract - Information and communication technologies
(ICTs) have been touted as potentially powerful enabling tools
for educational change and reform. When used appropriately,
different ICTs are said to help expand access to education,
strengthen the relevance of education to the increasingly
digital workplace, and raise educational quality by, among
others, helping make teaching and learning into an engaging,
active process connected to real life. But with the high cost
associated with access to the internet in developing countries
like Nigeria, the absence of internet infrastructure in the rural
communities where most of the students reside, and the need
for these students to be connected to the internet for their
academic activities, poses great threats to their studies and the
use of ICT in Nigeria. A major interest of the study is to
determine the perception of the open and distance learners on
the challenges in accessing open and distance learning
education through the use of internet. The study is based on
interviews and focus group discussions with learners. The
findings indicate that internet penetration in Nigeria
especially in the rural areas is still very low. Also factors like
the high cost of bandwidth, low computer literacy level as well
as epileptic internet services are some of the major barriers
preventing the students from accessing education through
open and distance learning using the internet.
Keywords — Internet access, study centre, tutor marked
assessments, MODEM, open and distance learning, learners.
I. INTRODUCTION
A. Objectives of the study
This study is aimed at evaluating the perception of the
NOUN students on the challenges they face in the use of
ICT. It is believed that at the end of this paper, the
students’ view on access to the internet would be made
known and it would be a good reference point for other
open and distance institutions especially in the developing
countries where the use of the computer may not be
comprehensive among all the students population and
where access to the internet remain a big problem.
Also, the findings would be found useful to planners and
managers of Open and Distance Learning (ODL),
especially towards a plan of a new ODL institution.
As a worldwide phenomenon, open and distance
education (ODE) has become an acceptable mode of
education in Africa and particularly in Nigeria
(Adekanmbi, 2004) providing access to the teeming
population with major challenges of inaccessible education.
In Nigeria, the National Open University of Nigeria
(NOUN) was rejuvenated in 2002 and is the only
accredited singled-mode University providing open and
distance learning education in the country.
The main academic activities of the students take place
at the study centres that are spread across the country. As at
the time of writing this paper, NOUN has forty seven (47)
study centres all over Nigeria.
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International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering
Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, Volume 2, Issue 10, October 2012)
B. Research questions
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Specifically, Adomi et al (2004) posited that the Internet
is very important to university students in Nigeria because
it enables them to have access to timely, accurate and
relevant information.
But, the cost of access to this internet remains another
issue that the students from the open and distance learning
institution have to come to terms with. Rumble (2001)
argued that the factors affecting the costs of face-to-face
education include whether small tutorials, seminars,
lectures or independent and resource-based learning
strategies are adopted. But it is important to note that the
technology adopted also plays a crucial role in the
determination of the aggregate costs of an education
system.
In developing countries, the high costs associated with
Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) have greatly
prevented the use of computers in teaching and learning,
especially in the conventional education setting. When one
considers the fact that each of the technologies adopted in
the instructional processes of open and distance learning
education has its own associated cost implications, it is
easy to see why studies have shown (UNESCO 2002,
Rumble 2001, Hulsmann 2000) that the costs per average
student of distance education is more expensive than that of
the traditional setting. UNESCO (2002) found that open
and distance learning is not necessarily the most costefficient approach, but the greatest benefit is that it opens
up access to certain target audiences.
In Nigeria, the main Internet access points for the young
are cyber cafés which are usually cited in the cities, other
access points includes offices and homes (for working class
who may be students), mobile and wireless internet
MODEMs.
The latest figures from the National Population
Commission show that Nigeria’s population is about 167
million people. Over 95 per cent of the 167 million
Nigerians, according to the National bureau of statistics
(NBS), may never have used the computer and the Internet
before. The survey covered all the 36 states of the
federation and the Federal Capital Territory. It also
considered access to mobile phone, radio and television
among Nigerians.
According to that report, the national Internet access
rates stood at 3.6 per cent with only 0.5 per cent of the
people who had access really owned a connection device.
Among the states, Lagos state leads with 27 per cent
followed by Rivers and Federal Capital Territory (FCT)
that recorded above 10 per cent total access, although a
considerable proportion did not claim ownership.
What is the level of accessibility of broadband
internet facility in the Nigeria?
How do the students of the open university of
Nigeria cope with the challenges of access to the
internet in the country?
And how does this affect their performance?
C. Importance of the research to ict.
 The study will present state by state level of
penetration of the internet facility across the
country.
 It will assist in bringing to the fore the internet
access challenges faced by the students with a
view to guiding the Institution’s policies toward
reducing the plight of their students.
 The work will also showcase the efforts being
made by the telecom operators and NOUN in
extending ICT to the entire country.
 Those in the business of providing internet would
also be adequately informed of the available ICT
opportunities for investment in Nigeria.
II. LITERATURE REVIEW
The Internet has emerged as an important component in
academic institutions as it plays a pivotal role in meeting
information and communication needs of institutions
(Luambano & Nawe, 2004). They observed that the
Internet makes it possible to access a wide range of
information that is up-to-date. It enables scholars and
academic institutions to disseminate information to a wider
audience through hosting websites and search facilities.
Furthermore, students and lecturers can communicate via
the Internet irrespective of their geographical boundaries.
Luambano & Nawe (2004) agree that
distance learning
has also been made accessible by the Internet.
On the same vein, Rehman and Ramzy (2004) opined
that the Internet has established a place in the personal and
professional lives of researchers and scholars through their
daily use of the internet for serious work and personal
communication. Lazinger et al (1997) also agree that the
Internet has transformed information access, use, exchange
and application for the university community and other
professionals.
In his findings, Lund (1998) noted that the advent of the
Internet has brought about a steady growth on the number
of online courses and virtual universities in the world
thereby transforming the whole concept of distance
education.
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International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering
Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, Volume 2, Issue 10, October 2012)
For states with the least access, Sokoto emerges with
only 0.3 per cent access to the Internet. Kebbi, Zamfara,
Kano, Bauchi, Kaduna and Ebonyi also turn out to have
low Internet access rates, each with less than one per cent
according to the report.
The survey noted that urban dwellers had more access
and ownership of Internet services at 11.6 per cent
compared to the rural dwellers, which was put at 1.5 per
cent.
Going by the equation embedded in the NBS data, it
means that over 158 million Nigerians do not have access
to the Internet.
The arrival of a second international submarine fibreoptic cable (Glo-1) in 2009 and a third in 2010 (Main One)
has broken the monopoly of Nitel’s SAT-3/WASC cable
and is revolutionizing the market by reducing the cost of
international bandwidth by up to 90%. Two additional
cables are expected to go online in 2012. Supported by the
expansion of several competing national fiber backbone
networks, applications such as e-commerce, online banking
and e-payments, e-health, e-learning, e-examinations and egovernment are rapidly evolving.
The mobile industry has emerged. A survey conducted
by Opera in its State of the Mobile Web report last year
revealed that 90% of Nigerian Internet users between the
ages of 18-27 said they use their mobile phones more than
desktop or laptop computers to access the Internet.
In fact, Nigeria has overtaken South Africa in mobile
technology to become the continent’s largest mobile market
with now close to 100 million subscribers, and yet market
penetration stands at only around 60% in early 2012.
Subscriber growth had slowed significantly during the
global economic crisis, re-accelerated in 2010 but then
slowed again in 2011. Much of the remaining addressable
market is in the country’s rural areas where network
rollouts and operations are expensive.
Given the proliferation of cellular mobile telephone use
across all sectors of Nigerian society, it is becoming
increasingly evident that this highly mobile form of
technology and its infrastructure can be leveraged to
deliver flexible educational opportunities to more and more
Nigerians.
III. METHODOLOGY
Interview was adopted in gathering data in this study in
order to capture students’ real views on the challenges of
access to internet in their locality as it affects their studies
in NOUN. Semi structured interviews are especially suited
to the study of students’ attitude, and behaviour, as well as
exploring lifestyle and contextual issues. The use of open
ended questions allows the respondent to elaborate on their
experience or attitudes.
There are six geopolitical zones in the country. 3 of
which are in the southern parts of Nigeria covering about
six to seven study centres in each zone. Face to face
interviews were carried out with seven students each from
the five major schools in the University in 3 zones of the
country (south west, south-south and south east).
Also focus group discussions were conducted with each
focus group meeting three times. Each focus group
discussion lasted for two hours and all participants spoke
during each session.
From the statistics above, the question remain whether
there are conscious efforts being put in place to address this
challenges?
As reported in buddecomm, significant consolidation has
occurred in Nigeria’s Internet and broadband sector, from
over 400 ISPs three years ago to around 120 in early 2012.
New powerful players from the fixed-wireless and mobile
network operator camps have entered the market with 3G
mobile and advanced wireless broadband services such as
WiMAX. The Internet Protocol (IP)-based next generation
networks currently being rolled out are enabling converged
voice, data/Internet and video services. Voice over internet
protocol (VoIP) is already carrying the bulk of Nigeria’s
international voice traffic.
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International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering
Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, Volume 2, Issue 10, October 2012)
The focus groups (subjects) were chosen among the
students of the following schools: School of Arts and
Social Sciences, School of Science and Technology, School
of Management Sciences, School of Law and School of
Education. Each group of participants was considered as an
independent group. The procedure used for group selection
was varied. The students' members of the group were
chosen from the randomly selected centres in each zone.
One such confirmatory focus group comprised members
of the target group and peer educators, and was used to
reflect on the results of a process evaluation of a health
promotion intervention targeting a public sex venue in
London.
Respondents were required to discuss how they access
the internet for their assignment, the time they spend per
week on the internet, how their families about the time
spent at the cafes with the attendance risk to their family
lives, familiarity with internet operations and how their
studies are affected by these challenges.
The participants were intimated of the purpose of the
discussions in order to elicit objective and truthful
responses on their perception (what they feel) on the
accessibility of the internet.
Responses from focus group discussions were analyzed
by controlling all statements about a particular aspect, by
summarizing the main point of consensus existing among
the focus group respondents, and taking note of the
differences if there were disagreements and by selecting
illustrative comments for inclusion.
Samples of the responses provided by each group of
respondents are highlighted below:
As security personnel, one is always on motion from one
duty post to another. It was very difficult participating in
time bound assignments. The availability and use of the
internet especially in the cities have eased the tension
associated with the regular posting exercise in my office. I
can now work and learn anytime, anywhere within the
cities.
 Undergraduate Student (Police Officer) Male
I have been dreaming of studying Law right from
inception. I had an uncle who encouraged me to study law.
But the quota system being implemented in Nigerian
university admission system denied me access to the
conventional university for a period of six years. Whatever
its cost, this system of distance learning has made it
possible for me to enroll for the recently accredited Law
course with the university without getting to “fight for
admission”. I got my instant admission online, registered
online and have been writing online assignment and
examinations. In fact, people around my shop now call me
“computer lawyer”. I hope to back my Law degree soon.
 Law student (Spare part dealer) Male
I am the third of my husband’s four wives. Although i
got married at a very early age, i had a strong desire and
passion for university education. Faced with the challenges
of raising children and managing my own small business
centre, my hopes were almost dashed until my enrollment
for a Hospitality Management course with the Open
University. Although i had no previous experience of
working with the computer, i had to enroll for private
computer training classes to enable me cope with my
studies. I am always using my study centre cyber cafe for
my assignment. The queue at the centre is always much due
to their experience, cost and reliability. Hours are spent to
the detriment of my family. My husband understands. I still
prefer this to the outside cafes.
A. Responses Of Learners
Participants expressed positive comments about the
benefits of Open and Distance Learning System of
education. On the use of internet, participants agree that the
internet enables them to have access to timely, accurate and
relevant information. However, there are mixed feelings
about the access to the internet due to the high cost of
access, epileptic services and in most rural communities,
unavailable broadband internet services. Some students
who reside in the rural areas have to travel down to the
urban centres in order to have access to the internet for
their assignments.
I am a second year student of Criminology and Security
Studies. Before my admission into the Open University as a
student, several admissions with the conventional
universities have been deferred because of posting.
 Undergraduate student (Hospitality Management)
Female
This is the kind of school that i have been waiting for. In
my office, it is possible to get study leave but those that
leave are normally replaced by someone else
notwithstanding the kind of degree one acquires at the end
of the course. There are lots of people who will just fill up
the vacancy created immediately one proceeds on leave of
absent. With my office internet, I am able to study online,
without leaving my office while still carrying out my
normal work.
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International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering
Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, Volume 2, Issue 10, October 2012)
 PG student (Banker) Male
There is no cyber cafe in my area, so i have to travel to
Ogoja –an urban area in order to check up information and
take my TMAs or download course materials. This is a big
problem for me.
I made an arrangement with some of my colleagues at
the study centre to send text messages to my phone when
ever any TMA is to be administered (Although the school
sometimes sent such messages). It is sometimes painful and
frustrating to embark on such a journey just to be told of no
service or network.
 Agric Extension Student (Applicant) Female
Before my marriage, my husband and I agreed that in
order for us to really promote the core values in our
children, one of us have to sacrifice his/her career in order
to take care of our children. I accepted to be a full time
house wife. My third baby is 2 years old now. With my
starcomms broadband connection, the link is always fast
and steady.
The connection has provided an avenue for me to
reconnect to my old friends on facebook, twitter and other
social networking site also in addition to my regular
studies. The actual monthly subscription for the IZAP
Epivalley 8089 + Purple 100 hours bundle for 30 days is
N13, 000 (82USD).
 Undergraduate student (Retired teacher ) Male
I use the internet in my office for my studies. During
break, access to the internet is available for staff in the
office. After closing hours, I usually stay behind for my
studies with our information technology staff (ICT).
I decided to study for an MBA programme, my family
has to bear with me since my greatest challenge as a banker
and mother is in my office. With the internet, access to
online books, journal and conference papers and even
access to international libraries for content have been made
easier. It would not have been possible for me to work and
learn with ease without this approach.
 MBA student (Banker) Female
I can view my emails, participate in social networking
sites like facebook, twitter etc through my mobile phone
but cannot take my assignment on my phone. Before
purchasing my laptop and MODEM, my assignments were
done in the cyber cafe. Diagrams, chats and images were
never rendered properly and took so much time to display.
Perhaps I need to buy an iPod. Let the University adopt the
use of mobile phones for learning. It will assist students
who are even in very remote villages where there is
network coverage. I am saying this because some of the
students that are being encouraged to study with the
university will experience this problem.
 MBA student (House wife) Female
I worked for Lagos state government. It was at my office
that i heard about the university. I got an MTN MODEM
for myself after spending several fruitless hours in a café.
The network was either slow or there is a queue, or that the
police are around chasing cyber criminals (popularly
known as 419) etc often resulting to late or non-completion
of my tutor marked assessment (TMA). Since I started
using my high speed glo internet MODEM, I am now able
to download online course materials on time and access my
TMAs. Although the MODEM is expensive to maintain
due to the high cost of subscription, and the cost of running
generators due to epileptic power supply. My status as a
worker makes ownership of MODEM possible.
 First degree student (Nurse) Female
As a student, i spend more on the internet than the actual
fees required of me. Most of the courses are online in
addition to the already printed copies sometimes distributed
in printed format, soft copy and in CDs. I will have to
download these voluminous courses and print them myself
at a high cost so as to begin my studies on time. I normally
study at night or when there are no customers to enable me
have time for my barbing salon too. I don’t wait to be given
the course materials during registration since i am the only
one managing the shop.
 Undergraduate student (Barber) Male
B. Potential ethical issues
 Post graduate student (ICT Professional) Male
This computer thing is better for the young people.
University Management should also consider the aged
students by giving them pen and paper exams. I am
determined to learn but usually end up spending more in a
usually hourly payment plan at the cafe attempting to type
fast. I usually seek the assistance of the cafe attendant for a
fee to enable me complete my task on time.
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Research ethics deals primarily with the interaction
between researchers and the people they study.
Professional ethics deals with additional issues such
as collaborative relationships among researchers,
mentoring relationships, intellectual property,
fabrication of data, and plagiarism, among others.
Issues raised by the students were held in uttermost
confidentiality by the researcher.
International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering
Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, Volume 2, Issue 10, October 2012)
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There was absolute respect for the students as they
narrate their experiences and encounters in the
course of their studies.
Cultural views were respected especially when
interacting with the female students. Focus groups
approach was adopted to avoid having problems with
especially married Islamic women.

IV. FINDINGS
From the responses of the students above, the following
can be deduced:
a. There is a consensus that the use of internet expands
access to education and drives open and distance
learning activities beyond physical boundaries or
campuses.
b. Most students’ access internet through cyber cafes’
while very few students’ access it from their offices.
Very few students can conveniently afford internet
MODEMs which are still expensive.
c. The internet speed in cafes is still a major issue. This
is not unconnected with the high cost of bandwidth
and the poor ICT infrastructure in Sub-Saharan
Africa. Study centres should work towards running
cafes at cheaper rates. It will assist students in
ensuring availability of quality, reliable, affordable
and well better organized services. Alternatively,
institutions should liase with operators who are
willing and capable of offering such services.
d. Some students are of the opinion that the university
should consider possible partnership with telecom
operators on the possibility of using mobile phones
for learning due to it wide spread coverage in the
country.
e. Students who have studied before in the conventional
universities are of the opinion that they spend more
time and resources studying in the open and distance
learning than in the conventional setting.
f. From the same students, it is clear that ODL students
make more use of the internet than other
conventional students.
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On the accessibility options participants have mixed
feelings about the access to the internet due to the
high cost of access, epileptic services and in most
rural communities, unavailable broadband internet
services. Some students who reside in the rural areas
have to travel down to the urban centres in order to
have access to the internet for their assignments.
Efforts should be made in ensuring that reliable and
affordable internet sources are provided in order to
really make education available to those who desire
it. Cafes to be established at the study centres should
be equipped with all the necessary hardware and
software for students to fulfil the requirements of
their university education, with properly trained
support staff to assist students.
It is important for students to be introduced to
courses on internet applications at the secondary
school level to enhance their internet experience at
the university level.
It is believed that addressing some of these issues
might go a long way in making education more
accessible through open and distance learning.
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V. CONCLUSION
In conclusion, students really consider the establishment
of the Open University as a major step towards providing
accessible education to any level in life.
 They agree to the fact that the Internet is very
important to open and distance learning students in
Nigeria because it enables them to have access to
timely, accurate and relevant information.
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