Standards No IT/Edu/08/01
The Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA)
(Federal Ministry of Science and Technology)
REGULATORY STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY USES IN THE EDUCATION SECTOR
In exercise of the powers conferred on it by section 6 of the National Information
Technology Development Agency Act of 2007, NITDA in consultation with key stakeholders hereby issues the following guidelines and minimum standards on computer uses at the different levels of the school system
• Short title and commencement:- (1) These guidelines may be cited as Standards and Guidelines on Computer Uses in Schools and shall come into effect on …, 2009
• Definitions:- In these guidelines unless the context otherwise permits:
• Act means the National Information Technology Development Agency Act 2007
• Student includes pupils in the Early Child Development Education, and students undergoing formal education in all tiers of the educational system
• Computer includes information technology systems, whether networked or not
• Take home assignment means school work intended to be done by the students at home or outside the school premises
• MDAs mean all Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government.
• The Agency means NITDA or the National Information Technology Development Agency
• Database describes a collection of data organized in a manner that allows access, retrieval and use of that data
• Database Management System includes software that allows a computer to create a database, add, change and delete data in the database; allows data in the database to be sorted and retrieved and reports to be generated.
3. Application:
(i)The persons and bodies to which these guidelines shall apply include:
- Federal, State and Local Council schools at all levels
- Private schools in the three tiers of government
- Institutions and persons who have pedagogical or related roles
(ii)These guidelines shall form part of any existing or future requirements for periodic accreditation and renewal of license of existing schools and for the grant of approval or permission for the establishment of new schools at all tiers of government
• Objectives:
These guidelines are issued for the purpose of achieving the following National objectives:
• Acceleration of Information Technology penetration and adoption in Nigeria
• Enhancement of Universal Access to Information Technology
• Widening the domestic market for Nigerian Information Technology products
• Creation of jobs and wealth
• Development of a grassroots approach to transforming Nigeria into a knowledge-driven economy
• Human capacity development
• Facilitation of e-learning
• Overall development of the Information Technology industry
5. Minimum standards on student/computer ratio
(i) The minimum standards for student: computer ratio shall be as follows:
a. Early Child Care Development Education (ECCDE): 50pupils:1 functional computer
b. Primary: 50pupils:1functional computer
c. Post primary: 40students: 1functional computer
d. Tertiary: 25students: 1functional computer
(ii) In implementing the above ratio, schools shall be required to establish computer laboratories or computer centers. Classrooms shall be equipped with interactive white boards and other teacher-aided learning tools. Also, to ensure an optimal use of the computer laboratories, e-learning tools and equipment as may be relevant to particular levels in the school system shall be a requirement under these guidelines.
6. Minimum standards and specifications on the management of school records
(i) The management of school records including finance, school enrolments and students' academic progress shall be by database management system
(ii) Database management system to be deployed in Pre Primary should be able to:
a. create tables
b. add, change, delete, and retrieve data
(iii) ) Database management system to be deployed in Primary should be able to: - a. create tables
b. add, change, delete and retrieve data
c. sort simple data
d. generate simple reports with or without unique identifiers primary keys
(iv) ) Database management system to be deployed in Junior and Senior Secondary should be able to:
a. demonstrate primary level specification
b a. demonstrate primary level specification
b. sort data on multiple keys
c. join tables
d. restrict records in a join
e. generate reports from queries
(v) ) Database management system to be deployed in Tertiary Institutions should be able to:
a. demonstrate Junior Secondary and Senior Secondary level specification
b .support up to ten (10) concurrent users
c. define and execute standard query language such as SQL type of queries
d. define and execute compound queries
7. Minimum standards on take-home assignments
All homework and take-home projects at all levels of the school system shall be computer-based where:
• the instructor is satisfied that computing and Information Technology skills required for the assignment or project are not above the cognitive capability of the students in that class
• All or any part of the particular assignment can be undertaken with the aid of the computer or Information Technology systems at the level of the students
8. Enforcement:
The enforcement of these guidelines shall be by the relevant authorities, including Federal, State, and Local MDAs in charge of school inspection, certification, approvals and accreditations
9. Review and Amendment
NITDA shall amend or review these standards and guidelines periodically or as the need arises in consultation with stakeholders. In reviewing them, the Agency shall be guided, among other considerations, by global trends and practices in Information Technology and the developmental aspirations of Nigeria .
10. Breach
Any breach of these standards and guidelines shall be construed as a breach of the provisions of the National Information Technology Development Agency Act of 2007 and the guidelines issued under that Act
11. Schedule to the Standards and Guidelines
(a) The implementing persons, bodies and institutions should be guided by the need for ethical considerations and the protection of children and students from abuses of Information Technology (such as child pornography, scam, phising, etc) whether or not outlawed by extant Nigerian legislation