THE REALITIES OF VIRTUAL LEARNING IN THE UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN: THE PROs AND CONs
The Pandemic which has been raging over a year all over the world has affected so many sectors of the economy due to the lockdown countries went on to curtail the spread of the virus. One of the sectors affected is the Education sector. All schools all over the nation went on compulsory break, this went on for a while. Due to this, various tertiary institutions all over the country had to adopt virtual method of learning. The University of Ibadan was not left out.
One of the advantages virtual learning is that it saves cost, the money meant to be spent on accommodation and feeding while in hostel is saved by this method of learning. The cost of feeding in school can’t be compared to that at home. Also, it gives students the opportunity to work and study at the same time, which goes a long way in supporting their studies and getting data for the zoom classes. Another advantage of this virtual class is that students can access the classes later on YouTube if missed. In physical classes due to inability to face large crowd and low Self Confidence , some students are not able to ask questions, but the virtual classes have given everyone the liberty to ask questions without the fear of being made jest of.
However, the disadvantages of virtual learning overweigh its advantages. It is an open Secret that the state of electricity in Nigeria is nothing to write home about. And for virtual classes to be efficient, the students needs access to constant power supply. The issue of phones and data also comes into play, not all students are financially buoyant to get these, also poor network services can also serve as an hindrance to the smooth running of virtual classes.
In conclusion, the adoption of virtual learning can be a step forward for the educational system in Nigeria, if all hands are on deck to see to the eradication of the aforementioned problems faced by the students.