Social media awareness in nigeria education

Social Media
Awareness in
Nigeria Education

@WaleMicaiah
www.walemicaiah.blog.com
www.statisense.com

Our Education Crusaders
Founder, President at Y4CFounder, Director at TFCC
OBASA OLORUNFEMI
Founder; The Fleuri Academy
H.U.G.E FOUNDATION
@HUGE_Foundation
OBIEFUNA LAWRENCE
Founder, CampusPortal.com.ng
LUTHER LAWOYIN
Promoter of passjamb.com.ng
THE STUDENTS' FORUM MARCELLINA EHIDIAMEN JOHN-ANTHONY OYEWOBI
Host, Hello Greatness
OGBUAGU SHIINE KENECHUKWU
@tsfnigeria

Our Researchers
@vsix_ejechi
FB: Vikkeytour Ejechi
@Esholanelson
FB: Ebiesuwa Shola Nelson

Social Media is being used
everywhere, but is it in use
in #NigeriaEducation?

Federal Ministry
of Education
MDA
State
Commissions
of Education
Secondary
Schools
Tertiary
UNI
POLY
COE
MONO
Components
of the Ministry
of Education
Education
Support
Services

The many sides to our Education:
This report takes a look at the presence or awareness
of Social Media in each of this identified institutions.

It was the morning of the day the Alder Social Media Report Nigeria 2014 was
released. I was fascinated by the revelations in the report and how Businesses,
Individuals have adopted and are riding on the Social Media to reach their Customers
and Followers. As I checked through each award category - Social Media Icons, Social
Media Titans and Social Media Overlords - no single nomination for Education, either
as a Business, NGO or Individual's use of the Media for education campaign.
I shared my findings with @AmenzeIyamu and other Education Crusaders in my
network. Amenze wrote a masterpiece* on the subject, of which I also followed with
another title*, the conclusion was that there is a gradual decline of interest in
Education in the consciousness of Nigerians. While Talent shows, Comedy, Sports and
the likes are readily in the front burner, education has taken a back seat.
It was on this note we decided to take a look at the awareness of Social Media in
Nigeria Education. Due to the quantity of the Institutions (Government, NGO,
Businesses and Individuals) that make up the Nigerian Education sector, our review
takes a look at the presence of our Institutions on Social Media. Presence meaning the
existence of a Website and selected verifiable Social Media network accounts.
How we got here!
*See back page
WALE MICAIAH

Since our study focuses on the “Presence or Awareness” of our educational institutions
on Social Media platforms, we therefore decided to use the Internet as our primary
source of information and research, with support resource from Government bulletins
and Newsletters.
Even though the tool for this measurement is Social Media, we decided, as of primary
importance, to consider the evidence of a Website as a foundational requirement to
know the availability of institutions on a global sphere. More so, official website is the
easiest way to confirm the authenticity of Social Media accounts, usually with a show
of icon on Website’s homepage.
However, we also understood that Webmasters often have icons on homepages but
without link to any specific account. We confirmed this by ensuring Social Media icons
actually load the respective pages as evidence that institutions’ accounts exist.
Following this basic evidence, we then reviewed the different Social Media platforms
as the medium for which institutions’ awareness or presence is measured.
This study is also enriched with insights from Education Crusaders who play vital roles
and contribute to the Nigerian Education System using different Social Media
platforms to reach their audience and followers.
Study Methodology

Presently, there are over 200 Social Media networks (Wikipedia). Research and
popular opinion have however shown that these selected 5 Social Media are the most
used in the Education Sector:
Social Media Scope

The Nigerian Education sector can be broadly categorized as:
 Government – Federal, States, LG
 NGO – Local and Foreign agencies
 Businesses – for profit
 Individuals – Crusaders, Bloggers, etc.
Education Sector: Scope of Review
NGO, Education Support
Services, Individuals
State Government –
Commissions of Education
Tertiary Institutions –
Universities, Polytechnics,
Monotechnics, Schools of Nursing
& Midwifery, Colleges of
Education
Secondary Schools
Associations – ASUU, ASUP,
COASU, NUT
Technical Schools Innovative Enterprise Institutes
FederalMinistryofEducation
(FME)anditsDepartments&
Agencies

FME
&
MDA
State Ministry of
Education & FCT
UniversitiesPolytechnics
Monotechnics
Colleges of
Education
School of Nursing
& Midwifery
Technical
Schools
Secondary
Schools
Innovative
Enterprise
Institutes
Support
Services
Academic
Unions

Total Institutions
1,1441,145reviewed
Federal Ministry of
Education & 25
AgenciesFME + 25 Agencies
Report on Institutions Reviewed

36 States Ministry
of Education
129
Universities
81
Polytechnics
114
Monotechnics
82
Colleges of
Education
FCT

188 School of
Nursing & Midwifery
133
Technical
Schools
218
Secondary
Schools
71
Innovative
Enterprise
Institutes
62
Support
Services
4
Unions
Academic

Summary Report
No. Institution Count
1 Federal Ministry of Education & Agencies 26
2 State Ministry of Education & FCT 37
3 Universities 129
4 Polytechnics 81
5 Monotechnics 114
6 Colleges of Education 82
7 School of Nursing & Midwifery 188
8 Technical Schools 133
9 Secondary Schools 218
10 Innovative Enterprise Institutes 71
11 Support Services 62
12 Academic Unions 4

Federal Ministry of
Education & 25 Agencies
FME + 25 Agencies

20 Agencies
have Website
5 Agencies have Facebook
account.
2 accounts could not be
verified from their Website.
Only 2 Agencies have Twitter account.
No Agency with YouTube account.
No Agency with LinkedIn account.
No Agency with Google+ account.
5.4%
Awareness
FME
has none
of these!

36 States Ministry of
Education + FCT

31 States have Website.
16 States have Facebook account.
9 States have Twitter account.
Only 2 States with YouTube account.
(Delta & Ekiti States)
No LinkedIn account.
No
Google+
account.
14.4%
Awareness

129 Universities(Federal = 40, State = 33, Private = 50)

Federal = 1
Private = 2
Federal = 1
State = 2
112 Universities
have Website.
Federal = 35
State = 33
Private = 44
53 Universities
with Facebook
account.
Federal = 18
State = 12
Private = 23
47 Universities
have Twitter
account.
Federal = 16
State = 9
Private = 22
Only 18 have
YouTube
account.
Federal = 5
State = 2
Private = 11
3 LinkedIn
accounts.
3 Google+
accounts.
Website presence – 87%
Facebook awareness – 41%
Twitter awareness – 36%
YouTube awareness – 14%
Osun state Uni.,
Niger Delta
Uni.,Uniport
AUN,
Adeleke,
Fed Uni., Dutse
19%
Awareness

81 Polytechnics
(Federal = 21, State = 38, Private = 22)

25 Polytechnics
have Website.
52 Polytechnics with
Facebook account.
36 accounts could not
be verified.
12 Polytechnics have
Twitter account.
Only 2 have
YouTube account.
2 Google+
accounts.
5 LinkedIn
accounts. Could
not verify 2.
Federal = 16, State = 4
Private = 5
Federal = 11
State = 24
Private = 17
Private = 3
Federal = 1,
State = 1
Private = 1
Federal = 1
Private = 1
Twitter awareness
– 15%
17.8%
Awareness

114 Monotechnics

36 Monotechnics
have Website.
30 Monotechnics
with Facebook
account. Only 5 could
be verified.
1 Monotechnic have
Twitter account.
No YouTube
account.
No LinkedIn
accounts.
No Google+ accounts.
Private = 3
Private = 1
Federal = 1
Facebook
awareness
– 26%
Website
presence –
32%
5.2%
Awareness

82 Colleges of Education

50 Colleges of Education have Website.
17 Colleges of Education with Facebook
account. Only 6 could be verified.
2 Colleges of Education have Twitter
account.
No YouTube account.
No LinkedIn accounts.
No Google+ accounts.
Federal = 2, State = 10, Private = 5
4.6%
Awareness
Federal = 16, State = 24, Private = 10
Website presence –61%

188 School of
Nursing & Midwifery

46 SONM have Website.
4 SONM have
Facebook account.
No Twitter account.
No YouTube
account.
No LinkedIn
account.
No Google+
account.
<1%
Awareness

133 Technical
Schools
71 Innovative
Enterprise Institutes

12 IEI have
Facebook account.
8 Technical Schools
have Website.
38 IEI have Website.
Only 1 Technical
School have
Facebook account.
No Twitter account.
No YouTube account.
No
LinkedIn
account.
No Google+
account.
12 IEI have
Twitter account.
Only 1
IEI
LinkedIn
account.
3 IEI have
Google+
account.
7.8%
AwarenessIEI

117 Websites.
33 Facebook
accounts.
13 Twitter
accounts.
No YouTube
account.
No LinkedIn
account.
No Google+
account.
Website presence –54%
4.2%
Awareness

62SupportServices
Support Services
9ja Education
After School PMP
Alpha Education Foundation
British Council in Nigeria
Campus Parrot
Campus Portal Nigeria
CLEEN Foundation
Council of Education in the Commonwealth
DAILY SCHOOL NEWS
Dave Abion Cousulting
DIRECTOR OF NAVAL EDUCATION
Edubabs
Education as a Vaccine (EVA)
EDUCATION IN NIGERIA
Education Nigeria
Edumark (Education Branding service)
ERBUM NIGERIA LIMITED
ESSPIN
Excellence and Education Network
Face Your Book
Federal Scholarship Board - Nigeria
Global Consulting Counselling
Glory Educational Services
Harvestfield Educational Services Ltd (HES)
H.U.G.E Foundation
Ishahayi Beach School Foundation
Live school news
Lordswill Academy
MOD Education
My School
My School Gist
Support Services
MyschoolNigeria
MyschoolNigeria
NG Scholars
Nigeria Beehive
Nigeria Education Portal
Nigeria School
Nigeria Schools Blog
NIGERIA STUDENT NEWS
Nigerian Higher Education Foundation
Nigerian University Scholarships
Our School Gist
PASS NOW NOW
PASSJAMB.COM.NG
PFL Education
Project Educate Africa Inc.
Scholars Works
Science Teachers Association Of Nigeria
Skoool Nigeria
Slum To School
Stepping Stones Nigeria (SSN)
Study Abroad Institute, Nigeria
The British-Nigerian Educational Trust
The Fleuri Academy
The Lagos Schools Online Project
The Universal Basic Education (UBE)
Toscany Academy
UKEAS Nigeria
UNESCO-Nigeria TVE
Voice Of The Nigerian Tertiary Institutions
Wale Micaiah on Education
Youth For Technology Foundation
ThesearebynomeanstotalrepresentationofallEducationsupportservicesinNigeria

58 Websites.
27 Facebook
account.
19 Twitter accounts.
7 YouTube account.
4 LinkedIn
accounts.
7 Google+ accounts.
20.6%
Awareness
YouTube awareness – 11%
LinkedIn awareness – 6%
LinkedIn awareness – 11%

Academic Unions
3 Websites:
http://www.asuunigeria.org/
http://www.asupnigeria.org/
http://www.nutnigeria.org/
No Union with
Social Media
account.

S U M M A R Y
No Institution
Presence & Awareness (%) Aggregate
(SM only)Web FB TW YT G+ IN
1 FME & Agencies 77 19 8 - - - 5.4%
2 State Ministry of Education & FCT 84 43 24 5 - - 14.4%
3 Universities 87 41 36 14 2 2 19%
4 Polytechnics 31 64 15 2 2 6 17.8%
5 Monotechnics 32 26 - - - - 5.2%
6 Colleges of Education 61 21 2 - - - 4.6%
7 School of Nursing & Midwifery 24 2 - - - - -
8 Technical Schools 6 1 - - - - -
9 Secondary Schools 54 15 6 - - - 4.2%
10 Innovative Enterprise Institutes 54 17 17 - 4 1 7.8%
11 Support Services 94 44 31 11 11 6 20.6%
12 Academic Unions 75 - - - - - -
11%SUMMARY 57 27 17 8 5 4

No Institution
Presence & Awareness (%) Aggregate
(SM only)Web FB TW YT G+ IN
11%SUMMARY 57 27 17 8 5 4
 Social Media awareness in our Education is 11%
 There is 57% Website Presence among our Institution
 Awareness of Facebook is 27%
 Twitter enjoys 17% Awareness
 Awareness of YouTube stood at 8%
 Google+ and LinkedIn Awareness is at 5% and 4%
respectively

Why Use Social Media in
Nigeria Education?

Internet Usage Statistics
Active Internet Users:
28.4% of the
population
(48.4million)
Age Distribution
Like other countries the
world over, the vast
majority of Nigeria’s
internet users fall below the
age of 40. Generally, they
can be divided into four
groups: 10-17yrs, 18-24yrs,
25-40yrs and, above forty.
http://woweffectng.com/news/internet-usage-nigeria
10-17yrs: These are mainly secondary school students who use the internet primarily for trivial purposes. They play games and
movies. Some of them use Facebook to connect with their friends. They mostly use the internet facilities in their schools. They
constitute an insignificant percentage of Nigerian internet users.
18-24yrs: Predominantly undergraduates.
It should also be pointed out that this group, especially those in transition from secondary school to university contributes a misleading high number to
the figures captured by ITU & IWS. To enter any institution of higher learning in Nigeria, you must pass through JAMB, WAEC or NECO. And to register
for any of those examinations, you have to go online. Checking results for these examinations are also done online, that is why the week after the
release of JAMB result is always the most lucrative for cyber café owners in Nigeria. For a large numbers of these admission seekers, this is usually
their first initiation into the internet world. What this means is that a disproportionately large percentage of growth figures reported for internet usage
in Nigeria are made up of this group. They access the internet mainly through their phones, cybercafés and school libraries

Facebook Statistics on Nigeria
http://www.socialbakers.com/facebook-statistics/nigeria
*February 2014.
According to social media tracking firm Social Bakers, Nigeria is the third
country in Africa with the most users, with roughly 5.365-million*.
Comparable in user numbers to Morocco, Ecuador and Belgium, it is the
35th biggest Facebook nation in the world. With the average Nigerian
user being between the ages of 18 and 24. 66% are male while 34% are
female.
Age Distribution
13-15yrs - 2%
16-17yrs - 4.2%
18-24yrs - 36.7%
25-34yrs - 35.1%
35-44yrs - 9.5%
45-54yrs - 4.5%
55-64yrs - 1.2%
65-100yrs - 6.8%
18-24yrs - 36.7%
25-34yrs - 35.1%
71.8%
Approximately
3.9million Nigerian
Youth are on Facebook!

If approximately 4.0 million of
your Customers ‘lives’ on a
Platform, where else should you be?

Reasons!2  Nigerian Youths & Students
 Leading institutions
Students represents 45% of
The Nigeria’s Internet
Population
Why Use Social Media in
Nigeria Education?
1
2

Leading Institutions 1
A quick look at world leading institutions on Social Media shows a great presence
and use of the medium to communicate with the public.
Harvard University
Stanford University
Yale University
Univ. of Cambridge
Oxford University
Massachusetts
Johns Hopkins Univ.
Cairo University
Univ. of Pretoria
Kyoto University
Univ. of Cape Town
University of Ibadan
658,332 Fans
191,043 Followers
321,488 Subscribers
3,178,479 Fans
341,628 Followers
141,098 Subscribers
6,035 Fans
18,260 followers
161 Subscribers
819,222 Fans
124,357 Followers
15,298 subscribers
657,915 Fans
106,347 Followers
35,197 subscribers
1,381,384 Fans
126,328 Followers
22,202 Subscribers
345,845 Fans
109,213 Followers
475,420 Subscribers
61,480 Fans
139,709 Followers
3,464 Subscribers
2,802 Fans
4,722 Subscribers
33,581 Fans
7,002 Followers
32,760 Fans
2,995 Followers
58 Subscribers
76,816 Fans
4,176 Followers
468 Subscribers
Stats as at March 5th 2014

If most of the World’s Reputable
Institutions (that you envy) are
leveraging on a Platform, where
else should you be?

According to Nigeria’s National Youth
Development Policy, the youth
comprises of all young persons of ages 18
– 35, who are citizens of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria. This category
represents the most active, the most
volatile, and yet the most vulnerable
segment of the population socio-
economically, emotionally and in other
respects.
(National Youth Policy, Abuja, Feb, 2001.)
Based on the scope of our review which
starts at Secondary school level;
Students under scope would be from
ages 12 – 35.
Nigerian Youth Nigerian Students
38% of Nigeria population are Youths
65 Million
45% of Nigeria population are Students*
75 Million
*Age 35 is hypothetical, Studentship can last a life time.

Nigerian Youths Nigerian Students
Number of Internet
users in Nigeria:
48,366,179
(Terragon Insights - 2013)
78% of Internet users
are between ages
19 and 35
(Terragon Insights - 2013)
37,725,620
Nigerian Youth/Students are
Internet users!
2

37,725,620
Nigerian Youth/Students
are Internet users,
If
Where else should WE be?

1) How are our Educational Institutions (Govt., NGO, Biz,
Individuals) using the Social Media Networks?
2) What prospects does Social Media presents for
Nigerian Educators & Learners?
3) How best can Social Media be used for Learning?
We posted these questions to Education Support Services
whose Social Media platforms have been identified as
huge resource base for Nigerian Students.
Here are their responses:

www.statisense.com
What prospects does Social Media presents for Nigerian Educators &
Learners?
In the connection economy, where the world is a global village with
netizens/global citizens you can’t ignore the power of social media. Social
media is a platform available to anyone with access to the internet through
mobile phones, tabs, laptops etc. Most platforms are open and free to use,
you can follow anyone for inspirational quotes, insightful thoughts and other
interests. Educators and learners have prospects and need to take advantage
of social media. It gives a platform for collaboration and social interaction.
For example Massive Open Online Courses MOOCs are fast gaining grounds
because of accessibility. Online/mobile learning is the future, although it will
not displace the classroom, it opens a window of opportunity to learn beyond
the classroom. With Social Media, not only can students learn from educators,
they can also learn from each other and teachers vice versa. I follow #edtech
#edchats on twitter and I must say am impressed at how teachers help
themselves become better teachers; sharing best practices, challenges,
technology tools, insights on how students can connect and learn better.
How best can Social Media be used for Learning?
Social media is a platform that can be used to open up conversation, raise
awareness, proffer solutions, and share resources on education. Informal
teaching and learning happens every day on Social Media. Nigerian
educators and learners need to effectively use these networks. We can have
Facebook or twitter class for instance, you can get students following, sharing,
asking questions. Students can also ask questions using effective hash tags and
directing them to educators’ handles. I was at Passnownow’s Social Media
Week event on education two weeks ago and was impressed at the
discussions on using technology tools and social media to reach out to learners.
An app with past questions for revision was launched to help students
prepare better for major external exams. There are lots of advantages, the
possibilities are enormous and endless. It can aid co-creation and ideation. It is
a great platform to learn and interact with others in real time. In the words of
Seth Godin, the foremost marketer and thought leader, ‘it’s not really about
whether you would be able to succeed or not, since there is a great chance
that you would, but whether you care enough to matter, after all.’ Education
is the key to growth and development of a nation, it’s about time our
educators explore this platform and inculcate it positively into their
curriculum. Social Media offers everyone a chance to reach out, share their
ideas and thoughts, if there is anyone who should take the lead position
taking this, it is educators and learners. BEATRICE KOMOLAFE |
H.U.G.E. Foundation.
How are our Educational Institutions (Govt., NGO, Biz, Individuals) using
the Social Media Networks?
Speaking of NGO's, business and individuals who are using Social Media, I will
say they are doing pretty good. Some are well-versed on how to use it and
some are just getting started. Some use it as real time customer service desk,
others information dissemination, research, to delight and market etc., it
depends on the nature, needs, objective, strategy of the business/NGO. Before
now I couldn't get much information on twitter or Facebook on education
organisations in Nigeria but there seems to be an improvement. I was
searching for public and private libraries recently on twitter and within few
minutes I was able to locate a private library close to my former office in
Ikoyi. I had passed by that library for years, it just seemed to me like not
much activity happened there. Although I am a big fan of libraries, I never
bothered to go in. Their engagement on social media is commendable, it
made me want to go there the next day and I did a few days later, I
registered instantly and now looking to become a friend of the library.
Engagement on social media is powerful and can not be overemphasized for
brands and anyone looking reach out. The accessibility and engagement not
only provides useful resources/information there are possibilities of
partnerships, open conversations that engender feedback for growth. Govt is
making effort, for instance I got important information about Support Our
School (SOS) initiative on Lagos State Govt twitter handle, the website
information was scanty and wasn't as detailed as the tweets on it. Not many
agencies or organisations have someone running their social media campaign
or even have a social presence at all. A founder of an Education NGO
tweeted about needing help for social media some days ago, she talked
about so much information to capture and share and few hands available.
The challenge for startups and organisations with a few hands could be that
there is so much to do running the helms of affairs and little time for
engagement. They go hand in hand and like this lady, ask for help. For large
organisations, a media dept not using social media is doing their organisation
a disservice. Lastly, from observation, we are making a lot of effort, but a lot
more needs to be done, the ministry of education, training colleges,
universities, agencies need to explore and effectively use social media. If it
can't be done in-house, hire someone/intern on flexitime to run it with
guidance, information and training. There are individuals/organisations who
provide this kind of service. It isn't difficult, with a smartphone you can access
available platforms and you are good to go. With time you find it interesting,
you don't even want to stop.

How are our Educational Institutions (Govt., NGO, Biz,
In my opinion, Educational Institutions in Nigeria are yet to really embrace the
social media. The NGOs, biz and Individuals might be doing their best in
harnessing the power of the new media in information dissemination but the
government owned institutions which forms the greater percentage of the
institutions in the Nigerian education sector have done little in this regard.
What prospects does Social Media presents for Nigerian
Educators & Learners?
With the steady exponential increase in the number of social media users, the
prospects presented by this new trend for Nigerian Educators are undoubtedly
much. Individuals and Educational institutions can actually build a very strong
brand that commands authority by properly engaging the millions of users
that have made the social media part of their daily life. The sky is simply the
limit of what can be achieved by an educational brand built with the help of
the social media. Learners on the other hand can learn faster and effortlessly
when engaged by educators through any of the social media platforms they
already find fun using. There are also limitless possibilities for learners that uses
the social media to network with people of mutual academic interests from
around the world. This will surely boost the leaners' future career
opportunities.
Social Media is more than just posting pictures on Facebook. It's something
that the society spends most time doing on the internet now. Therefore
connecting the social media and education is very important at this moment.
Learning will be fun if educationists at all level can adopt the social media in
giving assignments, passing out class reminders etc. The attention of some
learners who usually find it difficult to concentrate in regular classrooms will be
captured this way. It is also no secret that some youths abuse the use of the
social media. This is simply because they are ignorant. Schools can structure a
new curriculum targeted at teaching the merits/demerits of the social media
and how best to use it without endangering oneself and the community at
large. This way the schools would have not only positively influenced their
students use of the social media but has also influenced their character in the
real world. I believe there are a lot of other ways that social media can be
employed for learning, I only mentioned the few instances I could think of at
the moment.
OBIEFUNA LAWRENCE | @Lobiefuna | Founder: CampusPortal.com.ng
www.statisense.com
Social Media presents a world of opportunities to the willing and tech-savvy
learner. It is the summarized version of experiences as they happen on life
stage. As with many other spheres, Social media has redefined Educational
learning curves and experiences.
Some of the realizations of these possibilities are Passnownow by Toyosi
Akerele, Beni-american University by Gossy Ukanwoke & The Fleuri Academy
by Obasa Olorunfemi among others. Lecturers (and some parents) are [too]
quick to judge and presume negatively upon the use of social media by their
wards. The bitter truth is that kids will find knowledge positively or negatively.
The question is which gets to them first. Adapting Social Media into our
present Educational system will be challenging but not impossible. Quite a
plethora of prospects abound for Educators and learners on social media; from
resources to mobile apps.
The Fleuri Academy currently reaches out to students in Nigeria, Cotonnu and
Uganda while pressing on in their quest to bring down the statistics. In
appreciation of our efforts, The Fleuri Academy has been nominated for The
Youth Citizen Entrepreneurship Competition. The Competition is an
International Contest launched by the GOI Peace foundation, Stiftung
Entrepreneurship in Berlin, Germany as well as UNESCO. The Fleuri Academy
has also been reviewed by the Abi Adeleke Consulting Incorporated.
Conclusion
The advantages of Social Media are ease of access, portability of technology,
simplicity, freedom of Expression, Learning from your phone and saving time
from traffic hassles, live response from competent tutors and in some cases, no
Videos so less internet costs.
Education via social media however, is better utilized by older high school and
college students. Furthermore, awareness of this possibility in Nigeria is still
very low. Parents as well as most lecturers imagine its usefulness some distant
future while many students prefer to express themselves and managing social
lives not necessarily Education.
We need to recognize the opportunities provided by the use of social software,
both in shared creation content and wider access to audiences. These
technologies change the way we interact with knowledge. We are
experiencing a shift from a supply-led to a demand-led approach to learning
and great opportunities abound for development of Educational networks.
Unfortunately, Nigerian Educators are yet to wake up this reality.
OBASA OLORUNFEMI| Founder; The Fleuri Academy
@driminc; @thfleuriacademy

www.statisense.com
Social media have caused an eventual change in our world, making best
friends, making small businesses thrive and for education in most parts of the
world, to create a brand around their institutions by taking advantage of
social media as a means to drive change and also create an amazing
perception within the communities they serve. To be candid we are yet to
take advantage of the social media to propagate the change we hope to see
in our educational institutions, that means there is lot of work to be done by
each one of us in order to make this happen. All educational institutions need
to take advantage of the awesome prospects social media has to offer. It'll
help you to track records of events, and also have a conversation not just with
the people you serve but also to know what others' perception is of you and
what you do. Social media will also help our educational institutions to track
performance and also to some extent cleanse the system of loopholes. Does our
universities have a twitter handle, Facebook page, a slideshare account or a
YouTube account? If not create one, if yes are you making the most of your
social media campaign? Now is the time to put more speed to our pedals and
improve the image and coverage of our institutions.
Social media can be used for learning by having students form groups along
social networks so they can share information between themselves when there
are assignments. When you tell them to make friends across cultural lines they
begin to have a global picture. School administrators and student counsellors
can follow their students to know what they are thinking and how they could
build a stronger institution through them. Things are changing and the world
is not the same place it was 20 years ago.
Things have changed, people are more engaged with each other now than
ever, processes have changed as a result to meet current demands. Now, in a
society like ours demand for education is high and we must ensure we match
that demand with quality and affordable education. Banks are moving,
businesses to Social Media, and so our educational institutions should not be
left behind.
JOHN-ANTHONY OYEWOBI | @johntousin
I am of the opinion that our educational institutions are not making the best
of social media, a lot more needs to be done to engage the Nigerian student
who is mostly online these days. Most of them are not engaged education wise,
rather they are engaged in entertainment online. A few institutions and
individuals however do but a lot more has to be done to take advantage of
what social media can afford us generally.
Social media is a means of reaching a vast number of students that can’t be
reached literally in a physical class setting. it is a means to educate thousands
if not millions at the click of a button. It affords educators the opportunity to
organize and structure their effort to a measurable extent. It allows students
or learners extra means to learn more and be further developed at their
convenience. Its prospects are enormous, I believe it has not just been tapped
into.
Engagement basically, there are a million and one things calling for the
attention of the individual student online. The best way to reach these
students is to serve them what they need, get their attention and continuously
engage them. Engage so much that it affects their daily time spent checking
other stuff on Facebook, twitter and the likes.
LUTHER LAWOYIN - passexam ventures, owners and promoters of
www.passjamb.com.ng

www.statisense.com
I would say educational institutions are not using the social media maximally
because of some myopic beliefs that its negative outcomes are much more
than its positive outcome.
Social media would have been a very good soil for research, networking for
learning purposes and an avenue for inspirations that brings about growth
and development to the minds Nigerian educators.
*A lot of hearts out there are yearning for inspiration and encouragement. If
social media answers that via its different streams such as Facebook, Linkedln,
twitter and various blogs, it will really go well. I meant inspirations that brings
about need for research and the likes.
MARCELLINA EHIDIAMEN| @MarcellinaEhis
It’s agreed that the use of the social media can be relative but universally,
everyone agrees that the main use of the medium is for communication in a
virtual communities (accessible). Based on this definition, I would opine that
on the average scale, our educational institutions are yet to fully utilize the
potent of the social media and this is why; • The social media presents itself as
a platform for efficient and effective communication between teachers and
students, students and students, teachers and parents, teachers and teachers,
but only few are recorded to have taken that advantage. • It has made itself
available as a medium to distribute information (instructions, news et.c.) to
the receiving side. Looking at the above mentioned uses of the social media, it
keeps us thinking why there isn’t a great link in institutions’ among colleagues,
educators and learners and between both and research materials they seek.
Nigeria is a country increasing rapidly in the use of technology and is
constantly increasing in the internet community. To channel the minds of
Nigerians to the full usage of the social Media to improving our educational
institution can be a promising act. On this note, the social media has a lot to
offer and they include; • E-learning: This gives educators and learners the
opportunity to engage in distant education. • Provides a community that
would encourage self expression of students (especially the shy ones) • It
disapproves the belief that education is meant to be in a four-walled room by
encouraging learning at anytime, anywhere, as agreed by the communities
involved. • It can also be a medium for lasting, organized and current
information flow between any party involved • The Social Media can serve as
a platform for counseling and an information bank of institutions in Nigeria.
For full utilization, • A proper orientation should be given to students, teachers
and parents on social media and the use of social media • It should be
mandated that every instruction should own and manage a website and be
able to create fora to encourage discussions. The best way to use the social
media for learning is to; • Create online courses equivalent to the traditional
system of education. • Provide groups and pages on popular social media
forums to engage people.
OGBUAGU SHIINE KENECHUKWU| @kcshiine
SOME MINISTERS OF EDUCATION
ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Angie Motshekga
@AngieMotshekga
South Africa
Minister of Basic
Education
Arne Duncan
@arneduncan
US Secretary of
Education
Michael Gove
@MickGove
UK Secretary of
State for
Education

www.statisense.com
There are great educational opportunities, such as the growing use of social
networks like Facebook and Twitter by educational institutions. This in turn
has propelled the dissemination of news, lectures and other meaningful
information with students outside the classroom. Education-oriented action
groups use social media to extend their informational and educational
outreach. In a nutshell, social media has been of immense help to our
educational institutions.
We can limit the advantages of social media to ease of access, portability of
technology, simplicity and freedom of speech and expression. The use of social
media can help educators and learners reach their career goals more easily,
while also educating people who are eager to know or to know more. As time
goes on, educators and learners will see social media as a tool to bond and
interact.
We must bear in mind that the growth of social media from Facebook to
Twitter, from Flickr to YouTube has provided a host of new opportunities for
collaborative learning and at the same time raised questions about access. We
need to recognise the opportunities provided by the use of social media both
in shared creation of content and wide access to audiences so as to know how
best it can be used in learning. Education has moved from a broadcast model
to one where we understand and make sense of information. The limitations
of social networks must be noted as well as their potential. Social networking
sites are better utilised by older secondary school and university students, as
younger children are less likely to be reached by them. With these we can
blend social media with learning.
THE STUDENTS FORUM NG| @tsfnigeria
MESSAGE FROM MINISTER OF
EDUCATION REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Education is the foundation of a nation and a key to the future.
Our children, our leaders of tomorrow, should be able to discover
themselves by exploring their dreams and potential to the fullest,
and education should encourage such exploration and help all
students grow into their dreams.
The Ministry of Education is committed to providing an environment
where diversity is embraced and potential can be fulfilled, an
environment where all students are given the same opportunity to
pursue and realize their dreams, regardless of their background and
location.
We are dedicated to improving our nation's education system to
inspire the joy of learning in students and the joy of teaching in
teachers. We will also do our best to create an environment where
parents can raise happy and healthy children.
The Ministry of Education looks forward to working with all
stakeholders to achieve the goal of providing education for
happiness that nurtures dreams and talents.
Thank you.
SEO NAMSOO

Social Media is a TOOL. A tool is amoral, neither good nor bad, it only takes the form for
which it is employed. For this purpose, we decide to use it positively for Education.
Below are some of the ways SM can be used:
 Facebook offers a perfect platform to build study groups
 Classroom sessions can be recorded and made available on YouTube
 Effortless collaborate with other students through discussions
 Student entrepreneurship becomes more visible through network
 Using social media to communicate and gather information about various topics.
 Social media tools can help students develop proficiency with technology; learn to create,
critique, analyze, and evaluate multimedia text; and manage, analyze, and synthesize
multiple streams of information.
 Teachers/Lecturers can create Twitter hashtags specific to class projects or initiatives so
that students can collaborate, discuss the subject matter anytime they wish, and then
locate all tweets that include that specific hashtag
 Social Media provide a platform for Off-classroom engagement with Teachers.
 Institutions can create their professional profiles on LinkedIn, as well as provide summary
information on services available for public consumption.
 Link professional Alumni via their professional profiles on LinkedIn, this could come
handy during special celebration and fund raising.
 Cheapest way of maintaining global presence and awareness
 Schools can hold Tweetchat, Tweetminar and provide announcement to their Students.
 Students can hold tutorials via tweets
—Illustration by Roy Wieman

What Next?
The primary purpose of this review is to start a conversation and possibly to propel
Governments, Organisations and Individuals to action with the sole aim of
bringing to our consciousness, Education as a vital tool for the ‘next thought’ in all
sphere of human endeavours.
There are more to be done; we have only reviewed the ‘AWARENESS’ of Social
Media in our Education Sector, the USE and EFFECTIVENESS of Social Media in
Education and other areas of interests could be explored for value.
Hopefully you will find one area in our National lives where “this armament of the
weak against the powerful, the leveler of society, the arbitrator of justice, the voice
of the voiceless, the channel of those disenfranchised from TV networks” (according
to Leke Alder) can be deployed and adapted to reveal to all some sense in the
ordinaries.
Thank you.

EDUCATION IN NIGERIA: DEAD IN OUR SOCIAL MEDIA SUBCONSCIOUS?
It is with a heavy heart that I write this piece. Perhaps, it will not bother
you as much as it bothers me, but it must bother you. This is because I am
sharing a matter that affects us all as a people.
Last week, Alder Consulting released the Alder Social Media Report
Nigeria 2014 (check http://www.alder-consulting.com/home.asp), which
was a showcase of the Top Rated Social Media Brands is Nigeria, most
especially on Twitter. The report engaged the services of experts and
contributors in various categories to analyse reports drawn from a poll as
to which top brands utilised social media effectively. The categories
covered include banking, consumer products, entertainment, faith,
government, insurance, news, advocacy, non-profit, sports, telecoms,
fashion, entrepreneurship, motivation, comedy, etc. It was (and is) a
highly illuminating report. Amongst the many benefits of the report, it
showed the who-is-who when it comes to the Nigerian impact space. In a
sense, the leaders of all the categories have now become brands in their
own right. It only shows that other individuals and companies who have
failed to utilise social media effectively need to refocus in other to reach
the target market.
While there is a good side to the Alder Social Media Report, in my opinion,
there is also a down side. Interesting as the report may be, there is not a
single entity, corporate or individual, who has attained leadership status
in the education category in social media. This alone is highly shocking
and depressing. It means, in my estimation, that the national collective
subconscious of the Nigerian society has murdered the education sector
in social media. That alone, is a rash summation I have come to. But then,
how do you explain that the report by Alder Consulting has no education
category, whether it be in the form of advocacy for change in the
workings of our education sector or any school (from primary to
postgraduate) in Nigeria that was unable to make it to the list of top social
media brands in Nigeria? Let us face the harsh truth: the education sector
is not a public favourite in Nigeria.
As a nation, we have continued to pay lip service to our education sector.
It had to take the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to engage
in a 6-month strike last year to drive home their point to the Federal
Government. Even during that time there were many arguments for and
against the action of the lecturers. Many opined that the lecturers were
only going through that path to secure their own pockets. Some said they
were fighting for the future of the Nigerian student. According to ASUU,
the strike action became imperative as the federal government had
reneged on some of its promises made in time past.
Only the dramatis personae can tell us the real truth. But did this matter
receive massive social media following like a related matter in
entertainment, such as a fashion faux pas of a celebrity or the crass
comment of a wannabe celebrity would receive concerning the matter of
the singing of anti-gay law in Nigeria would receive? Your guess is as
good as mine. Education doesn’t just sell in Nigeria. It is not a news-
worthy item.
But then again, who is to blame for this malady? Is it the federal
government who has refused to vote a sizable portion of our budget to
education for successive years? Or are we to blame it on the simple fact
that even our federal ministry of education doesn’t have a Twitter account
or a facebook page? Or perhaps, is it the fact that it is only the Lagos
Business School that has a face on Twitter, in such a time that nearly every
thing called a university in more developed nations has a Facebook page
and a Twitter account and somehow even the first generation universities
in Nigeria still have lecturers who are anti-technology reading outdated
notes in our lecture theaters? Or again, are we seeing the result of our
collective apathy to a sector where parents prefer to send their children
for schools that teach “British Curriculum” at the expense of Nigerian
languages being taught and nobody, or set of persons, in our ministries of
education have decided to turn the other cheek to this anomaly? Do we
blame wealthy Nigerians who would rather engage in philanthropy for
the sake of looking good in public than invest in creating research
facilities in our tertiary institutions, even in their own alma mata? Who do
we blame really? The system? The parents? The children? I don’t know.
I and a few friends of mine have decided to take a more proactive
approach to putting the brand tagged “education” in the forefront of our
national social media consciousness. This is because we believe that
through proper investment in education, a nation’s GDP will naturally
improve positively. Perhaps, in 2015, when the Alder Consulting firm
decides to take another poll of top brands on social media, Divinity may
smile upon our efforts as we make education a living concern in the heart
of our social media conscious audience and not the cadaver state it
currently is.
God bless the education sector of Nigeria! God bless the Federal Republic
of Nigeria! God bless you for reading! God bless Leke Alder and the Alder
Consulting team!
P.S.- I can be reached via email on amenzesaysjustbe@gmail.com. If you
are passionate about Education in Nigeria, let’s talk. AMENZE IYAMU

ALDER SOCIAL MEDIA REPORT & NIGERIA EDUCATION SECTOR
On Jan 31, 2014, Alder Consulting released Alder Social Media
Report Nigeria 2014, which is the first ever organized and
comprehensive report carried out on Social Media (SM) activities in
Nigeria. The report has three main categories; (1) Social Media
Icons, (2) Social Media Titans and (3) Social Media Overlords with
rankings by Experts (Expert Ranking) and Popular (popular
Ranking) which culminated into the Overall ranking
1. The Social Media Icon category reviewed brands in different
sectors. The sectors are Banking, Consumer Products,
Entertainment, Faith, Government, Insurance, News, Advocacy,
NGO, Sports and Telecoms.
2. The Social Media Titans measured brands specific parameters
such as; Customer Service, Customer Engagement, Relevant
Information, Speed of Response, Up-to-date Information, Visual
Appeal & Delight.
3. The Social Media Overlords looked at Individual’s use of the
Social Media for Politics, Entertainment, Sports, Fashion,
Relationships, Current Affairs, Entrepreneurship, Business,
Technology, Policy, Careers, Finance, Arts/Culture, Comedy, Gist,
Motivation, Food, Health and Faith.
I have already done a summary tweet of this report and its
respective winners – check @walemicaiah. However, I discovered
that no mention was made in the nomination of any Individual,
company or institutions in the Education sector. According to the
report methodology, “Scoring for the AlderSMR rankings will
comprise a public poll and an assessment by an independent
panel”. It means, both the public and the independent panel did
not find any Individual (Social Median Overlords) or
Company/Institution (Social Media Icon) in Education that is using
the Social Media effectively.
What a minute, it means from the Federal Ministry of Education, to
all its 25 Agencies, our Universities, Polytechnics, Colleges of
Education and Public and Private schools, none was found to
be using the social media for communication or for other
purposes. Universities like Harvard, Stanford, Cambridge,
Pretoria (South Africa), all have active presence on Social
Media engaging their Students and other stakeholders. Even
some selected Nigerian universities with presence on Social
Media are inactive and redundant. This means most academic
institutions and their regulators are yet to come to terms with
a tool as vital as the social media.
Education has been relegated to the background with Sports,
Comedy, Entertainment and the likes taking the front burner
of our national discuss. Little wonder we complain daily of
bad leadership and corruption. “The philosophy of the class
room in one generation will be the philosophy of
government in the next – Abraham Lincoln”. The next
leadership idea is locked up in the classroom, somewhere.
The next innovations and inventions are locked up in the
pages of some books written some years ago or some books
being written. How then can we hope to be self-reliant as
individuals and a Nation if Education receives such disdain
treatments?
I personally see this as a wake-up call, to do more, write more,
blog more, tweet, speak more, read more and live more to
bring Education to the consciousness of people around me.
Let’s all join hands to bring to national relevance the place of
Education in the lives of individuals and our Nation. Where
we are today is as a result of our commitment to Education
yesterday and where we will be tomorrow will be
determined by our commitment to Education today.
WALE MICAIAH

God
Bless
Nigeria.
Arise, O Compatriots

Social media awareness in nigeria education

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (20)

Similar to Social media awareness in nigeria education

Similar to Social media awareness in nigeria education (20)

More from statisense

More from statisense (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Social media awareness in nigeria education