This study aimed at determining the level of computer skills acquired by secondary school students in Nsukka Local Government of Enugu State, Nigeria. Specifically the study sought to ascertain the level of word processing skills, graphic application skills and Internet skills acquired by secondary school students in Nsukka Local Government of Enugu State. Three research questions and three null hypotheses were formulated in line with the objectives to guide the study. The study employed a descriptive survey research design using a sample of 272 respondents drawn from three secondary schools selected for the study. The instrument used for data collection was a 41-item structured questionnaire with a reliability index of .72, .83, and .80 using split half method. Data collected was analyzed using mean and standard deviation for research questions while t-test statistic was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The study revealed that word processing skills and Internet skills are highly acquired by students' whereas graphic skills were moderately acquired by the students. It was therefore recommended that all education stakeholders should evolve supporting strategies like donating one dollar laptops to schools, retraining programmes and counterpart funding that will enhance computer literacy in Nigerian secondary schools.
TopIntroduction
The goal of any meaningful education is to promote sustainable manpower development. Sustainable development means the development that continually meets today’s need of any nation in a way that does not jeopardize the future generation (Pietella in Aigbovbiosa, 2006). This implies that sustainable development of a nation means the ability of that nation to maintain its economic, political, social and technological growth over time in a way that ensures the well being of that nation at that present time and in the future. According to UN (2008), sustainable development is defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meeting their own needs. By this definition it is implied that sustainable development is a process that is continually evolving. The two major key concepts underpinned this definition: the concept of need and the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social, political and economic as well as some human behavior and practices to meet present and future needs.
According to Okporie (2014), a development path that is sustainable in a physical sense could theoretically be pursued even in a rigid social and political setting. The author, however, pointed out that physical sustainability cannot be assured unless developmental policies pay attention to effective policy implementation and regulation approaches to socio-economic issues and practices which hinder development and its sustainability. The United Nations report (UNDESA, 2008) showed that, sustainable development has remained elusive for many African nations. For instance, poverty is still a major challenge, as 41% of sub-Sahara African populations (about 300 million people) are still living on one dollar per day or less (www.un.org/esa/sustdev/sdissues.htm).
Thus, one major means of overcoming grinding poverty and hunger is through functional education which guarantees meaningful source of livelihood through paid or self employment. Functional education is a type of education that is characterized by an intensive approach in contrast to the extensive approach in traditional literacy programmes. It is an education process that focuses on helping individual students develop saleable skills (21st century skills as ICT literacy skills, technological literacy skills, media literacy skills, among others), values, attitudes and knowledge required in the knowledge driven economy to become productive members of the society (NCREL & Metiri Group, 2003; Allen & Van der Velden, 2012; Voogt & Pareja, 2010; Pacific Policy Research Center, 2010). Today, the educational systems around the world are under increasing pressure to use Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to teach students the knowledge and skills needed in the 21st Century. ICTs are therefore electronic technologies used for accessing, processing, gathering, manipulating and presenting or communicating information. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) continues to impact positively on every aspect of human existence, thereby creating a powerful force for changes on how people conduct their daily businesses and in fact, determine the status of the Nation (Olelewe & Nzeadibe, 2015).