The perception of public university students on the impact of COVID-19 on learning in Nigeria

At the turn of the 21st century, many educational institutions switched gradually from traditional paper-based to online learning, following the domestication of digital technologies and the spread of the internet. The outbreak of COVID-19 has proven how beneficial online learning can be, as students and teachers can remain connected and share information in an event of crisis. The Nigerian government-imposed school closures at the end of March 2020, to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, disrupted learning for approximately 1.5 million students enrolled in higher educational institutions. Private universities, having access to digital technologies were able to resume learning remotely at the end of April. Conversely, 94 per cent of the tertiary students who are enrolled in public universities (PU) were limited as most of their institutions lacked digital technologies and thus could only transmit knowledge face-to-face. In addition, socioeconomic and demographic differences may mitigate or amplify the effect of COVID-19 on learning. Students from poor families or those who reside in remote areas with poor internet connectivity may not be able to access e-learning platforms. Understanding the effect of COVID-19 on learning and how it can play out for different types of students can have significant implications on the higher education sector in Nigeria. Using an in-depth interview, this proposed study aims to investigate how PU students are learning, and how they perceive the effect of the disruption on their learning and learning outcomes. A sample of 15 students will be interviewed and a snowball sampling technique will be used to locate the participants. The findings would be useful to policy makers and non-governmental organizations interested in bridging the digital divide across tertiary institutions in Nigeria.