The Federal Government has directed all Nigerian universities to implement Anthology Blackboard, a hybrid learning technology, by the end of 2025.

Minister of  Education, Dr Olatunji Alausa, who was angry with the slow pace of digital transition by Nigerian universities, gave the directive during a meeting with vice chancellors in Abuja.

Alausa urged universities to move beyond traditional limitations and embrace digital solutions.

“It’s not acceptable at this age to remain limited. Explore the opportunities of modern technology. You have to adopt hybrid learning classes. Use your ICT intervention funds to link to ICT dashboards. This is what you should be doing.

“Every one of you must start using Anthology Blackboard before the end of this year. That is one of the best technologies that we have now. That will help you with your hybrid classes,” he charged the vice chancellors.

He acknowledged that training might be required for implementation but assured that the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) would support institutions in adopting the platform.

“I know there might be some training involved. We will talk to TETFund to provide how you will adopt it. You have to start adopting hybrid classes.

He encouraged institutions from the North, where there is an issue of insecurity that affects school attendance, to take advantage of the initiative, saying “you should be the one to use this solution to keep your students involved.  This is not a talk show; you would have to implement this.

The Minister also disclosed that about 75 percent of potential students were being denied entry into tertiary institutions in the country yearly because of the low carrying capacity of the available institutions and urged universities to tackle the significant shortfall in admissions.

He also called on the universities to focus on specialised  education programmes to address the widening skills gap in the workforce.

He noted that by doing so, institutions would better equip students with the skills required to succeed in their chosen careers, ultimately benefiting the economy.

Alausa lamented that every year, around 2 million people apply to the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for admission to universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, but only about 330,000 are admitted, resulting in an admission rate of 22-25 percent.

He said this leaves a significant number of applicants, around 75 percent, without access to higher education.

Alausa said: “Every year, 2 million people apply to JAMB to either go to universities, polytechnics, or colleges of education; meanwhile, out of these 2 million people, we only have an admission rate of just about 330,000 people.

“This translates to an admission rate of just between 22 and 25 percent. So what happens to those 75 percent, year over year?

“We have invested a lot of money in building infrastructure, which is meant for the students. We shouldn’t be limiting the number of people we admit to our universities based on available accommodation.”