The Leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students, the highest Students' body in the Country through her facet in Ebonyi State led by the Director of Special Duties NANS Zone B, Comrade Olisa Alfred Nwuruku, in a joint voice with the Council of Presidents, Students' Union Government in Ebonyi State applauds the Federal Government and the Government of Ebonyi State for their restlessness in resuming Educational operations in Ebonyi and in the Country at large, through the initiation of E-learning schemes and Radio/Television learning media for tertiary institutions. This was the unanimous voice of the teleconference between the NANS Representative and the Council of SUG Presidents in Ebonyi State, today the 20th day of May, 2020.

We do not deny the inevitability and usefulness of this scheme to the Educational sector, especially at this trying time when the walls of classrooms are compulsorily shut down and Students locked at their respective homes by orders necessitated by the fight against the global scourge, such that since it is obvious that the pandemic forbids body contacts and which is unavoidable in our respective classrooms, virtual learning becomes a highly esteemed option.

We are not also oblivious of the unending nature of this disease, so that the hope of resuming classrooms dims, safe to say, and cannot consequently relax our heads and hands, hence the need for any right-thinking country and State to consider virtual learning as an option, but we strongly refuse this scheme on grounds of its impracticability, summarized in these paragraphs below:—

1• We feel the Federal Government through the Ministry of Education and the Government of Ebonyi State through the Ministry of Education/the management of the tertiary institutions in the State have not really planned well for the Students, to have inconsiderately ousted the Students' Union Leaders from the desk and seat where this option was contemplated, not really holding ourselves highly, but we feel it is our concern and interest at stake, a decision that is chiefly taken for us should not inversely be against us!

2• As a body of Nigerian Students, and the target people in view, we have had enough time to painstakingly reconsider the pros and cons of the initiative in question, that is, the practicability of electronic learning in a clime as deficient as Nigeria, deficient of Stable Power Supply and deficient of sophisticated Technology, and have arrived at a conclusion that the plan would fail for want of enabling facilities, and personnel who would adequately man the facilities in view of the standard of our information technology.

3• Researches have revealed that E-learning best thrives in a space where there is an adequate power supply, by this, we do not mean to undermine the efforts of both the Federal and State Governments in improving this shortcoming, but for the time being, Nigeria as a country and Ebonyi as a State still have multifarious hinterlands that are yet to connect to the power supply, and unfortunately, the population of Nigerian Students is not limited to the numerical figure settling in the urban areas, so that it suffices to say that the population of students residing at the rural areas who are not also captured by electricity and most other population suffering power fluctuation would be cut off from this scheme, leaving the whole dream unattained. We cannot also alternatively resort to our generating plants, people that cannot afford the cost of their feeding cannot comfortably fend for the price of daily fuel utility, most others do not have stand by power generators at all.

4• We have also considered the modalities of this initiative technologically, and we are still dissuaded. Electronic learning as an advanced learning sail through where there are sophisticated technological facilities in place, and unfortunately, Nigeria and Ebonyi State are yet to ascend this height. However, our position would have been different if the population of the target Students is majorly based in the Urban areas where the network concentration is higher compared to what is obtainable at the rural areas where our students also reside in great counts, but what success could be achieved where network connections that fluctuate badly for calls are used for lectures?. If we must succeed, then arrangements for enabling facilities must be put in place.

5• To further this, we speak convincingly of the adverse effects of the poverty level of the country on this initiative, we will not be sounding strange to say that the educational sector is not devoid of the poor class of Nigerian citizenry, it is also factual to assert that virtual classes unlike the physical classrooms that make use of paper and pen is facilitated by technological devices like cell phones, personal computers, and television sets, and unfortunately the nature of the Nigerian Economy is such that robs the Poor of the proprietary claim of these facilities not precluding the cost of subscription which is a criterion for any online engagement if this initiative gains National interest and approval, what then is the possibility of reaching the incapacitated set of Students who can afford neither cell phones nor laptops for this proposed lectures?

6• Again, our ground of rejection is also fastened on the understanding had on the nature of the courses we offer in our respective tertiary institutions so that while some courses could be taught online, others cannot. For specificity, we will not be wrong to infer the impossibility of teaching practical courses that are mathematically based online. The virtual learning is somewhat non-participatory and so cannot provide a good medium for the teaching and learning of such courses.

7• We want to also emphasize the impact of physical facial contact on learning, discoveries have revealed that Students understand more when they feel the eyes contact of their lecturers, not Precluding their gestures, and these are things that the scheme of Virtual learning will not guarantee.

8• Conclusively, while we applaud the Federal and State Governments for putting our fates into consideration at this helpless and critical time, we want to convincingly say that the planned initiative is a good plan that is birthed on infertile grounds!

Alternatively, we request that the planned cost of this initiative be diverted to the development of our deteriorated learning environments, some schools have been crippled by poor management, some others by time. Plans should also be put in place to return us to more conducive classrooms where we are conversant with, which would be useful for this initiative, or better still the way we left them, while the Nation adopts good strategies to actualize these dreams like the western world which will be useful in subsequent times, but till we have attained this height of technological advancement, all attention should be lent to the development and rehabilitation of our schools.

While we are not yet assured of the supply of these expensive demands needed for this noble initiative, we wholeheartedly confess our discomfort with its initiation and therefore urge both the State and Federal Governments to please lead us through paths that we can practicably ply.

We reaffirm that education is a right, not a privilege!

E-Learning is great but
for complete 14-16 hours
we don't have light..

E-learning is just like wasting of time....poor electricity, poor management attitudes, poor internet connection etc

This is right.