AVirtual learning during Covid-19 in Nigerian public and private universities

More than two years after the discovery of the ravaging pandemic COVID-19 in Wuhan China, COVID-19
is still remains a major public health challenge. The dreaded virus is recorded to have contributed to not
less than 6 million deaths globally. The impact of the virus on the educational systems globally has also
been overwhelming with 1.6 billion learners in more than 200 countries disconnected from their
conventional academic learning model. Subsequently, learning institutions around the world have
reacted to this inauspicious eventuality through virtual solutions aimed at mitigating against the
disruptive effect of the pandemic. This study seeks to appraise and critique the status and reality of
virtual teaching and learning in Nigerian public and private universities. The study adopted a descriptive
survey design that incorporated both questionnaires and interview methods of data collection. Data
were analyzed descriptively and thematically. The study was carried out in two public universities and
two private universities in Nigeria, which were purposively selected and constituted a sample of 64
academic staff. Findings indicate that both private and public universities navigated employed the virtual
means to pass across knowledge to the learners during the pandemic; online teaching was more
established in private universities compared to public universities. However, there were impediments
and challenges faced in the use of virtual media in teaching by all the universities. The noticeable
problems faced during virtual learning were poor internet connectivity, cost of subscription and the
inability to have practical sessions. The study concludes that the teaching and learning process was
greatly affected by COVID-19 at all levels and that a level of pro-activeness needs to be committed to
learning by stakeholders in Higher Education in order to benefit from global digital transformation.