Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, Vice-Chancellor, of Lagos State University (LASU), says the institution has adopted a hybrid teaching method to tackle the inadequacy of facilities caused by an explosion in the population of students.
Olatunji-Bello said this at the 26th Convocation Lecture and 40th anniversary celebration of the institution, on Tuesday in Lagos.
The lecture had the theme: “The Impact of Digitisation on Higher Education in the Digital Age”.
The vice-chancellor said: “With this effort, we can meet the growing demands of the digital revolution in managing higher education.
“Apart from providing a solution to overcrowding in the classrooms, this innovation will also ensure that students who cannot attend physical classes have an opportunity to join virtual ones irrespective of their locations on the university’s campuses.
“This hybrid method has also solved problems associated with manually accessing university’s services such as certificate and transcript processing, school fees payment and other financial transactions,” Olatunji-Bello said.
The vice-chancellor added that LASU had committed huge funds to digitalise the processes for seamless service delivery.
“Today, it gives me immense pride to announce that LASU is one of the most digitalised universities in Nigeria.
“It is undeniable that technology has become an indispensable reality in all areas of daily lives today.
“Given its flexibility and adaptability in diverse areas of human endeavours, technology has become an integral aspect of management of higher institutions,” Olatunji-Bello said.
She said that the present situation stemmed from the post-COVID-19 pandemic which necessitated the need for higher educational institutions to embrace the digital revolution.
“Expectedly, the education sector has seen a lot of digital innovative solutions tailored towards the provision of seamless educational services without the risk of disruption as was experienced during the pandemic.
“These amazing digital solutions have enhanced teaching and learning processes and expanded the ideal classroom to virtual or cyber environments.
“Our digitalisation drive received a boost recently when the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy selected LASU, among 49 other tertiary institutions in Nigeria, as beneficiaries of the Broadband Internet Connectivity Intervention Scheme,” Olatunji-Bello said.