The Chief Technology Officer of Computer Warehouse Group Plc (CWG),Mr. James Agada has indicated that the company, being the leading IT service provider in Africa, has the capacity to operate the Nigerian Research and Education Network (NgREN) so as to enable it offer the appropriate shared IT infrastructure tertiary institutions in Nigeria need to succeed.
He made this known while speaking on the topic: “Using PPP to Advance ICT in Tertiary Education” at the 2015 education conference organized by the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC), the American University of Nigeria (AUN) and the Digital Promise Foundation, in Abuja.
According to Agada, “CWG can operate the NgREN and provide a high performance computing facility that will provide world class tools such as virtual laboratories, simulators and academic and research tools to users at affordable cost. This can be done at a fixed subscription fee per student per semester or on a pay per use basis for both students and the faculty of schools. We are already working on this model and look forward to the support of the NUC and the universities to make it a success.”
Agada told the audience that the ability of tertiary institutions to generate useful knowledge depends on access to other repositories, access to tools, laboratories and an ability to work in an enabling ecosystem which technology has made accessible and affordable.
He explained that “Tools like Google, Cousera and Authorea available today has made it possible to democratise access to an almost infinite pool of knowledge, tools, laboratories and collaborators without hindrances of time and distance.”
However, he said, “the cost of acquisition, operating, maintaining and upgrading ICT will make it difficult for Nigerian universities acting individually to achieve as much as they do not have the budget for anything beyond a modest investment in ICT. This is because most universities are by nature and law not profit making organisations, so it is difficult for them to make these investments and hope to recoup. This is compounded by the fact that Government funding of the universities is going to be continually hampered by the fast dwindling revenue.”
Agada noted that the Public Private Partnership (PPP) option remains the only viable option for funding the higher utilization of ICT for research and learning in tertiary institutions. He explained that PPP can be made attractive for private organisations if they are allowed to build out and maintain the infrastructure and services while the university community utilises the ICT infrastructure for research and learning within an established social and legal contexts.
Earlier in his address, Professor Julius Okojie, the Executive Secretary of the NUC expressed appreciation for the notable ideas proffered by the speakers at the conference. He noted that finance and the absence of visionary leadership has been the bane of the adoption of technology in the education sector for development. “The prime objective of the conference organizers is a better and more effective teaching, learning, and research through ICT. So far we have been able to decide on some key resolutions and one of them is to strengthen our collaboration with technology services providers to provide quality IT services to universities at affordable rates. That is the greatest take-away from this conference for me,” he said.
Other speakers at the conference were Margee Ensign, the Vice-Chancellor, American University of Nigeria, Micheal Harvey, USAID Director, James Entwistle, the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Hindatu Abdullahi, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education and representatives of universities of the federation.
Recall that the Nigerian Research and Education Network (NgREN), the first of its kind in West and Central Africa was built by a consortium of indigenous technology companies led by the Computer Warehouse Group (CWG Plc). The project was implemented under the Science and Technology Education Post-Basic (STEP-B) initiative. It covers 27 Premier Federal Universities in Nigeria and their over one million students and staff.
