ENHANCING QUALITATIVE EDUCATION THROUGH ICT AS A CATALYST FOR THE ATTAINMENT OF THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS (Published)
The quest for the third world nations to become one of the 20 economic power nations of the world by the year 2020 sparked the need to institutionalize and enhance qualitative education at all levels of their education system. The 8 point MDG goals of the United Nation (UN) can only be attained in a nation that has quality education base that is affordable and accessible to her citizenry without any exception. In the present jet age, qualitative education is enhanced through information communication technologies (ICTs). ICTs are central to the creation of diversified and functional quality education system; creation of emerging global knowledge based economy and play an important role in promoting sustainable development aimed at achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This paper attempts to explore the importance of qualitative education through ICT in attaining the MDGs target of the UN in the areas of overall empowerment of` the populace to become self-sufficient and self-reliance, reduce poverty and hunger, gender equality and women empowerment, health and environmental stability. The factors that hinder quality education were also looked into. The paper also made recommendation on the way forward to enhancing quality education and the attainment of MDGs and concluded that unless a qualitative and functional education system built around the state of the arts in ICTs is institutionalized the quest to attain the MDGs and become one of the economic powers of the world by the year 2020 will definitely be a mirage.
Keywords: Catalyst and MDGs., Self-reliance, Self-sufficient, qualitative