Nigerian Higher Institution Scholars’ Perception amid COVID-19 Pandemic

As the devastating effects of COVID-19 pandemic was being felt by all nations of the world, socio-economic and political undertakings were temporarily suspended, also, academic activities in almost all countries were postponed or adjusted. However, because the gravity of the pandemic effects differs, countries’ higher institutions’ preparations and responses varied to some degrees. Therefore, this paper studied scholar’s perceptions of the Nigerian higher institutions’ preparations and responses amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The quantitative research method was employed and the questionnaire was administered via WhatsApp and WeChat to the research respondents. The data collected were analyzed using wenjuanxing software and results were presented in bar charts. The research findings showed that Nigerian higher institutions face high cost of internet data, inconsistent electricity supply, and poor network services and these can affect scholars’ readiness and participation in the virtual classrooms. There was no significant difference among the research participants based on their gender, academic status and geographical location. Hence, the study recommends a need to train both the staff and the students on the online classes by the institutions, and issues of poor network, high cost of data, and inconsistent electricity should be addressed by the government to help virtual education in the Nigerian high institutions function properly.