Assessment of Availability and Utilization of Information and Communication Technology Skills among Colleges of Education Students in North-West, Nigeria

This study was conducted to determine the availability and utilization of Information and Communication Technology Skills among Colleges of Education Students in North-West, Nigeria. A survey research design was adopted for the study. All students enrolled at Federal Colleges of Education in North-West, Nigeria during the 2021/2022 academic session made up the study’s population. A random sample of 384 (243 male & 141 female) students were selected from the three Colleges chosen for this research. A validated questionnaire titled “Students ICT Skills Assessment Questionnaire (SICTSAQ)” was used for data collection. Reliability coefficient of 0.74 was obtained using Cronbach alpha reliability test. Mean, standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, t-test and ANOVA to test hypothesis at 0.05 level of significance, data analyses were explored using SPSS version 22.0. Results indicate that ICT facilities were moderately available in the Colleges (mean = 3.32), students possessed good ICT skills (mean = 3.48), the level of students’ usage of ICT in learning was moderate (mean = 3.14), and there was no significant difference in the level of ICT skills obtained among male and female students (P>0.05). The study concludes that there is a need for transformation of learning to continue when schools are closed due to any pandemic. Recommendations among others include Students enrolled in the Colleges of Education in North-West, Nigeria are encouraged to enhance their proficiency in ICT skills and effectively incorporate these abilities into their educational pursuits. Keywords: Students, ICT, Skills, Availability, Utilization.