COVID-19 and Digital Transformation in Nigeria's Higher Education System: Gendered Discourses

Abstract

It is common knowledge that the coronavirus pandemic transformed the global system. This alteration occasioned by the pandemic, commonly referred to as the new normal, led to the deployment of instrumentalities by man to aid survival amid the disruptions. One segment that was seriously impacted and had to bear the brunt of mandatory lockdowns was the higher education sector in Nigeria, which was not at its optimum before the onset of the pandemic. Another reason this sector suffered this crisis was mainly due to her almost total reliance on in-person learning rather than hybrid or online systems as practiced in most developed climes. Amid this health turbulence, some higher educational institutions noticed an improved digitalization as they feared the long-term impacts of the prolonged shutdown on their academic calendar and students' cognition. Hence, they developed systems that aided them in teaching students from home. This chapter x-rayed the diverse impacts of the COVID-19 interruption on higher educational institutions in Nigeria and her students from a gender dimension while assessing the effects of digitalization embraced by these groups as a way of displaying resilience against the strange situation. Investigation revealed that the COVID-19 situation dealt a terrible blow to higher education students in Nigeria, especially to the female gender, but was salvaged to a very significant extent through e-teaching and learning. The chapter recommends that these institutions intensify efforts in consolidating ICT as it is the way to go and can save this vital sector from collapse if faced with disruptions. The chapter was qualitatively driven and utilizes secondary data from book chapters, journal articles, conference papers, policy briefs, and monographs, among others, to evaluate the itemized issues and actualize its objectives.