Proliferation of computer centres: The fears, the gains : Nigeria

Proliferation of computer centres: The fears, the gains
Chidi Okpara • Sunday, September 18, 2005
The computer as we know it today has come a long way. There is no place you go today and you won’t see a computer being used in one form or the other. Its importance in the day-to-day running of individual and corporate bodies’ activities, has made it imperative for people to be computer literate. The Encyclopaedia Britannica defines the computer as an automatic device capable of solving a problem by executing a prescribed program, or series of instructions.

Computes were first used in the 1940s in a few research laboratories and by the late 1960s had become commonplace tools in data processing for government, business and industry. Early use of computers at universities and in the military was for scientific and engineering calculations and also data analysis. Today, most industries and businesses use the computer for a multiplicity of operation while the civil engineering firms use it for design studies and proposals preparation among others. Indeed, the computer can be put into several uses by different establishments. It can be wisely used for research and information processing in such professions as law and medicine and sometimes in stock market analysis. The importance of the computer in today’s world has made many look at the computer revolution as being more significant than the industrial revolution.

Because of the numerous uses of computer, many establishments can hardly operate effectively today without the computer. Any secretary that lacks the knowledge of computer is either sent for training to update his or her knowledge he or she risks his or her job. Aside this, many industries, corporate bodies have made the knowledge of computer as a pre-requisite for employment. Thus the fear of losing ones job, the desire for job seekers to be on an advantaged position had propelled many to seek for the services of computer instructors or teachers who can impact the knowledge effectively.

It is not an exaggeration, to say that the computer has become an indispensable part of every society the world over.

Expectedly, many individuals and firms have cashed in on the demands for computer literacy to establish computer training and internet centres. The essence is for individuals, firms and corporate bodies to equip themselves and staff to meet with the global challenges.

Today, there are many computer training centres on our streets and roads, while many more are still springing up. While one may not rule out the contribution of these computer training centres to the development of mankind in recent times, one can emphatically state that all may not be well with the way some centres are being managed. There is need for proper coordination of these training centres. The Agency for Adult and Non-formal Education which responsibility it is to see to the coordination, may have failed in its duty to ensure that these training centres are brought under one umbrella, for proper management and coordination. And if possible as some have suggested, to draw a proper curriculum for the operators as is the case with the formal education system managed by the Ministry of Education.

There is need to ensure that there informal education/training centres springing up everyday are managed properly.

In his office the Director of Rivers State Agency for Non-formal Education, Mr. Augustine Dogala noted that it has been the desire of the Agency to ensure that computer training centres come under one umbrella. He said sometime ago the Agency had planned through a Non-Governmental Organisation for literacy support services an umbrella NGO for all the extra moral schools including computer and catering schools to serve a demand notice to all the computer training centers operating in the state for them to come and register but the effort was aborted along the line. He said, however that plans are underway for the Agency to constitute a committee to this effect.

According to him, when the agency is through an awareness will be created, through the radio, television and any other media to reach the concerned training centres for compliance with the directives that would be given by the Agency. Asked what he thinks would be some of the criteria for the registration, Mr. Dogala said, to qualify for registration, the training centres must ensure they have competent instructors, at lest two or four computes as a start, and good learning environment. Also he said, the proprietor or proprietress should be able to spread the time for their candidates for all to be accommodated and give them maximum time while on the computer. He said the Agency, also plans to monitor the centres to ensure compliance with the guidelines.

The agency, he said, also plans to close down any computer centre that would not comply with its directives.

On why the registration of the centres is important, the Director pointed out that by not registering, the centres have failed to contribute to the state economy, adding that they should be made to contribute their quota to the state treasury. Mr. Dogola who said he will soon hand over to a new director, urged the computer centres to ensure they register when the time comes for a proper organisation of the centres as according to him, every Nigerian needs a quality computer education.

Speaking on the importance of ensuring proper management of the computer training centres, Ms. Datie-Ikoko, Ebiikio the client liaison officer Net-Express Cyber Cafe at Aba Road stressed the need for the computer training and internet centres to have good service providers. She noted that time for accessing information or downloading information from computers differ in some centres because of the way some internal connections are done at some computer training centres.

Commenting on the proliferation of computer training centers, Ebiikio, blamed individuals that engage in business simply because they feel others are making money through that business. According to her, some people that open computer training centres do not know much about the operation of the computer, and wondered how they would be able to impart its knowledge to others. As she puts it, “people just want to join as computer training centre owners because they love the money accruable from it.” She said that based on her position, when such people come to her for counsel, she usually advised them against opening a computer training centre but instead to look for other business to avoid wasting peoples’ money. She said any one that wants to own a computer centre should know the professional aspect of it.

Asked if she is in support of registration of computer training centres and internet services, Ebiikio who is also the Marketing Executive East, Net-Express Cyber Cafe in affirmative said the registration would ensure that the training centres give their students effective training as they would be given guidelines on how to operate… For the internet cafe, she said the registration would help to check fraud.

Commenting on the importance of computer training centres, Mr. Israel James, Manager LAYINFT Global Services, a computer training centre along UST Road, said computer knowledge has helped reduce the rate of unemployment in the nation. According to him, the computer aids in correcting spellings and in sentence construction. The computer he said also helps one to articulate and arrange things and have a sense of management which could help one in life. Also he said the computer trainers have helped to develop mankind and made communication easier among people.

On whether he agrees to the registration of the training centers, Mr. James said he has no problem with that but would like the government to assist the training centres by providing them with more computers to assist them develop human resources, which is their ultimate goal.

Mr. Richard Nwakanma, a computer instructor with El-computer another computer training centre said that in the near future, the computer trainers would have succeeded in building the future of Nigerians. He said an easy communication within and outside the country would go a long way into enhancing business operation and activities as individuals and corporate bodies need it for efficient communication and feed back.

Some people interviewed that have passed through some of these computer training schools narrated their experiences. Mr. Henry George, a third year law student of UST said that the spread of the computer training schools centers have been of great benefit to individuals and corporate bodies. According to him many people, himself inclusive have come to know the importance of computer and so a few computer training center to him may not be able to accommodate all the people. He is however of the opinion that computer training proprietors before opening a computer centre should have at least 20 computers for their centre. They should equally seek the services of professional personnel as instructors to empower their candidates.

For John James who has completed his computer training, and is seeking admission into Uniport to study Chemical Engineering, the computer training centre is a welcome development. He did not have anything to complain about where he did his training, but is aware that some computer centers do not have enough computers for their students. Also he said some don’t have enough computers instructors as in some cases he said it is one teacher that handles all the students in a particular training centre. Aside this, he observed, some of the centers don’t have good systems and lacked the technical know-how to impart the knowledge very well. He is, however, happy that the computer training centres generally have slashed down on their tuition fees.

For Darlington Ihemanma, who just enrolled for a three-month training course with a computer training school, the management of the centre has time schedule for the lectures, making the students fit well into the programme. Ihemanma, who wishes to open his own computer training centre or get a job wants individuals to utilise the opportunity provided by the schools to update their knowledge in computer.

Onyinyechi Uzoma, also running a programme with a computer training school has nothing to complain about her centre. Already she says she has gone through the preliminary stage of computer education and is hoping to get a job with it.

That the computer schools have been of benefit to mankind cannot be over-emphasised. But its proliferation has been a source of worry to many who feel that some centres are out there to extort money from individuals without imparting the knowledge as should be expected. A situation where only one teacher would be attending to about 10 students does not augur well with the tenets of knowledge impartation.

Again, most times, poor management of the computer systems has led to system breakdown making the students stay longer than required. The reason for this is that some computer training centres are not qualified to operate and so don’t deserve patronage.

These schools should be encouraged to give way to those that are serious with the training. Moreover, there should be an umbrella body for the training centres for effectiveness and maintenance of standard. Unfortunately, the Agency which has the responsibility to ensure the system is improved upon has done virtually nothing to beef up development of human resources through computer literacy. Most of the computer training centres confirmed this as they said no one has brought to their notice the need to register the centres before operation. The Agency for Adult and Non-formal Education needs to live up to its responsibility in the interest of all.

The Ministry of Education, however, confirmed that plans are underway to providing and ensuring that the non-formal education centres are made to operate under supervision. To this end, early this year, the Commissioner for Education, Ven. Prof. Thompson Okujagu held a meeting with all proprietors of Continual, Extra-Mural Colleges, Remedial, Computer Training Schools/Centres and Catering Schools. The aim of the meeting according to the Commissioner was to provide a qualitative framework for the actualisation of government policy on “Education For All” as he put it, and to strengthen private sector partnership in education delivery.

According to the Commissioner's Press Officer, Emmanuel Kaldick-Jamabo, already modalities for the registration of the centres have been mapped out with the amount for the registration fixed.