Assessment of Information and Communications Technology Skills Possessed by Teachers in Technical Colleges of Kano State, Nigeria

Email: mulkidon1@gmail.com; mulkidon1@mautech.edu.ng Abstract Purpose: The main purpose of this study is to assess of information and communications technology skills possessed by technical teachers in technical colleges of Kano State, Nigeria. Approach/Methodology/Design: A descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study was 157 which consisted of 86 experienced and 71 inexperienced technical teachers of Technical Colleges in Kano State. The instrument used for data collection was a structured questionnaire titled: Assessment of Information and Communications Technology Skills Possession Question (AICTSPQ) developed by the researchers. The instrument was validated by three experts and a reliability coefficient of 0.78 was obtained using Cronbach Alpha reliability method. Mean and standard deviation was used to answer the research questions while z-test was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Findings: The finding of the study revealed that Technical teachers are unskillful in ICT operation such as MS excel, Photoshop, database, animation, forum and Corel draw; and have a low level of ICT utilization. Practical Implications: The findings of the study have implications for concerned authorities. The Government should provide ICT infrastructure in the State’s Technical Colleges in order to have conducive environment for teaching of the trade subjects and enforce integration by regular supervision among others. Originality/value: The technical teachers were unskilful in the following; MS excel, Photoshop, database, animation, forum and Corel draw, video conferencing, instructional game, interactive whiteboard and online teaching as the utilization of ICT facilities was low among technical teachers in Technical Colleges of Kano State.


Introduction
Technical colleges are established purposely to produce craftsmen in various disciplines. According to Okoye and Okwelle (2017), the main purpose of technical colleges in Nigeria is to kindle technological and industrial development by developing and utilizing technologies for industrial and economic advancement. Technical college is an integral part of the total educational system. It contributes towards the development of good citizenship Skills are more commonly used in the context of trade, occupation and vocation and are usually aimed at practical purpose (Kumazhege & Egunsola, 2014). Skill is thought of as a quality of performance which does not depend solely upon a person's fundamental, innate capacities but must be developed through training, practice and experience. Although skills depend essentially on learning, it also includes the concept of efficiency and economy in performance. Skills, in general, should be understood as being something that can be learnt and improved with practice. ICT skills also known as digital competency involve confident and critical use of information and communication (ICT) in the general population and provide the necessary context (knowledge, skills and attitudes) for working living and learning in a society (UNESCO, 2015). According to Rastogi and Malhotra (2013) ICT skill is the ability or competence needed to use efficiently the elementary functions of ICT to retrieve access, store, produce, presents and exchange information and to communicate and participate in a collaborative networks via internet. Rastogi and Malhotra added that technical Teachers' ICT skills needed include their ability to use the wide variety of technologyrelated tools and their application to classroom teaching, in particular, and to the totality of teaching-learning process in general.
Knowledge and Skill of ICT is necessary for effective teaching and learning. The major challenge to teacher education in Nigeria is that of insufficient knowledge and skills in teaching using ICT (Rastogi & Malhotra, 2013). ICT skill is a necessity for all teachers to guarantee relevance of the system and its products in the 21 st century. Many schools in Nigeria still operate the traditional education system with little or no adaptation to ICT. To benefit from the ubiquity of nformation and to facilitate communication among professional networks, school teachers need, not only to be trained and re-trained in ICTs, but also facilities must be provided by government to enable teacher and their students access to these remain uninterrupted, more so that the world is gradually becoming a global village. For our future teachers to be able to operate effectively and efficiently they must imbibe the new technologies and methodologies of the modern times (Mohammed & Yarinchi, 2013). In today's rapid technological changes, it is imperative to undertake ICT skills assessment to encourage a consultative approach towards identifying workforce skills and key areas of learning and development.
The skills to use computer according to Akintunde (2014) is not the only ICT skill required to make valuable use of information stored in the internet. In order to make adequate use of these online resources, literacy in ICT or information is needed. Nikitakis (2017) referred to ICT skill as the ability to totally comprehend and acquire a whole lot of capacities, which include recognizing, spotting, evaluating information as well as making effective use of it. This may imply that alongside these fundamental skills, the abilities to inquire, communicate and collect information are essential. Using computers effectively is now a crucial part of every student's education. Haywood (2013) mentioned some core ICT skills which include knowledge of: spreadsheet, word processors, database and presentation. These ICT skills are essential in our present world in order to enable one have access and utilize information. These ICT skills are required in these contemporary times to enable students function effectively. UNESCO (2017) reiterated that ICT leads to general access to education, equity in education, transfer of quality learning and teaching, teachers` professional growth and efficient educative management, governance and administration. This thus implies that teachers can improve their teaching method/strategies through proper and quality usage of ICT. As a result, universities, government and employers are expected to pay attention to teachers' ICT skills, because these are the people to restructure future for the students/learners (Basil, 2020).
In a study carried out by Siddiquah and Salim (2017), they noted that majority of the teachers have access to computers and internet facilities both at home and in the universities, as such, they possess some skills such as knowledge of Microsoft word, Microsoft PowerPoint, searching and browsing on the internet, social networking, e-mail, uploading file, and video games. Conversely, amidst these various skills possessed by some teachers, it is obvious that they lack other skills such as proper usage of e-library, discussion forums and blogging. Olurinola (2016) stated that PowerPoint should be used in teaching and learning as it facilitates learning among student. In a study by (Odede & Enakerakpo, 2014), the researchers stated that if teacher possess adequate ICT skills, they can efficiently make use of the internet and other online teaching application. Odede and Enakerakpo (2014) further added however that the ICT skills acquired by some teachers were acquired through conscious effort made by teachers themselves through handbooks and manuals, friends and courses in their various institutions. Consequently, (Siddiquah & Salim, 2017) noted that the teachers engage themselves in doing other computer related activities instead of waiting for government funded programs. This is because, most of the teachers believed that using ICT ease their research work and teaching pedagogy. Perhaps this is because everything is now at their fingertips courtesy of ICT.
Studies have however revealed that teachers face series of challenges in acquiring and utilizing these skills. (Anyim, 2018) stated that some of the challenges of acquiring ICT skills include; lack of funding, failure of the curriculum to include ICT, poor attitudes toward acquiring ICT skills, unavailability of training opportunities, poor ICT facilities, high cost of ICT literacy training and lack of interest in digital information. Adeosun (2010) conducted a study describing the situation of ICT which was very particular about the state of things in Nigeria, as a great challenge to effective learning, the researcher mentioned poor infrastructure as one of the major issue affecting the full implementation of ICT; very good internet access, proper and adequate hardware among other infrastructures are necessary for basic and advanced level of ICT enabled instructions. It is clear that in terms of computer access and usage, developed, developing and underdeveloped countries are not comparable; the difference is amazing as there are fewer computers and the usage in underdeveloped countries compared to develop and developing countries. Duhu, Mbaga, Quahha and Danzaria (2014) in their study on the Perception of electrical engineering trade teachers on the use of information and Communication Technology for teaching in Technical Colleges in Adamawa and Gombe States of Nigeria reported that electrical engineering teachers perceived themselves as having inadequate skills required to use the ICT for classroom instructions, furthermore, the teachers were not comfortable with regards to the role of ICT in classroom management/control and loyalty from students. In another study conducted by Sango and Aliyu (2018) on challenges militating against the utilization of ICT by Nigerian teachers suggested that lack of skills, interests, time, inadequate training, lack of appreciation of the benefits of ICT use and the tasking nature of the preparation of ICT utilization are the major challenges militating against the utilization of ICT by teachers.
Considering the constraints to effective ICT utilization, Deebom, and Goma, (2018) conducted a study on utilization of ICT for sustainable manpower development among technical educators in tertiary institutions in Rivers State, Nigeria; the study discovered that despite the benefits of ICT, its utilization by technical educators is constrain by lack of inservice training on the use of ICT, inadequate ICT facilities, poor supervision and administration of ICT programmes, high cost of acquisition of ICT facilities, low internet frequency etc.
It cannot be overemphasized that the successful integration of ICT into the school depends on teacher being aware of the relevance of ICT as a means of providing access to a richer range of resources for themselves and the students (Deebom & Goma 2018). They must also be convinced of the comparative effectiveness of ICT facilities in the classroom over the traditional method of teaching (Etuk, 2016). Teachers use ICT to display information, create charts, monitor students and engage students. Students use ICT for learning, practicing and expanding what they have learned. In order to produce students that could be responsive to the competitive world of work, teachers must be well trained on how to use various ICT facilities. According to Sango and Aliyu (2018) basic ICT skills such as laptop operating, elearning, smart classrooms, didactic equipment and stimulations are the keys to education today.
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skill is imperative to human daily activities. How much skills of ICT an individual has, is fast becoming a determining factor to securing a proper job and good pay in Nigeria, ICT skills are most required and requested for, in any kind of employment. There is hardly any modern organization that operates without the use of ICT. The ICT skills as well as the internet is a necessity for all teachers to guarantee the relevance of the system and its products in the 21 st century. To benefit from the ubiquity of information and to facilitate communication among professional networks, school teachers need, not only be trained and re-trained in ICTs, but facilities must also be provided by government to enable teacher and their students access to these remain uninterrupted, more so that the world is gradually becoming a global village. For our future teachers to be able to operate effectively and efficiently, they must imbibe the new technologies and methodologies of the modern times. From the observation of the researchers, the technical teachers have reservation for the use of ICT facilities in Government Technical Colleges in Kano State. It is against this backdrop that the study was undertaken.
The main purpose of this study is to assess information and communications technology skills possessed by technical teacher in technical colleges of Kano State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study answered the following research questions:  both in Jigawa State. The reliability coefficient of the instrument was found to be 0.78. Data for the study was collected by the researchers with help of two research assistants. Mean statistic was used to answer the research questions of the study while z-test was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Any item with the mean above 3.49 was considered Skillful/Utilize while those with means below 3.50 were considered Unskillful/not utilized. The hypotheses was that, when Z-calculated value is greater than Z-critical value, the null hypothesis was rejected and if otherwise was accepted  (19) items are presented to the respondent. The results indicate that all the 19 items presented received mean responses between 2.20 to 4.05 showing that, the two group of respondent agreed that technical teachers almost possessed skills on some items and do not possessed skills on other items. The two groups of respondents have a standard deviation range of 0.99 to 1.38 and this indicates that, the electrical installation and maintenance teachers are skillful in some of the items and are unskillful in some of the items in the research question. The grand mean of the two groups shows a mean of 3.35. Based on the data presented and the subsequent analysis, the researcher concludes that, the entire respondent considered the ICT Skills possessed by technical Teachers for Instruction in Technical Colleges in Kano State as unskilful. The findings from the results presented showed that technical teachers are unskillful. This is in agreement with the findings of Duhu, Mbaga, Quahha, and Danzaria, (2014) which revealed that electrical engineering trade teachers lack some basic ICT skills such as database and spreadsheet utilization. Duhu, Mbaga, Quahha, and Danzaria further stated that electrical engineering trade teachers perceived themselves as having inadequate skills required to use the ICT for classroom instructions. In further support of the findings, Deebom and Goma (2018) reported that the need for an effective way to achieve sustainable development is the integration of technology in all spheres of education, however, the manpower needs is lacking as there is deficit in knowledge possessed by the workers especially the teachers. showing that, the two group of respondent indicated that the ICT utilization in some items is low and is high in other items. The standard deviation also shows that, the two groups of respondents have a range of 1.10 to 1.42 and this indicates that, the respondent consider ICT utilization on some items is high and consider ICT utilization on other items is low in the research question. The grand mean of the two groups shows a mean of 3.27. Based on data presented on this research question, the researcher concludes that, the entire respondent considered the level of ICT utilization by technical teachers in technical colleges in Kano State as low.

Level of ICT Utilization by Technical Teachers in Technical Colleges of Kano State
The responses to the items as presented in table 3 indicated that 12 out of 19 items presented have low utilization. This is in conformity with the findings of Daniel (2014) who found out that the extent of utilization of ICTs in teaching business education is not encouraging which posed challenges for effective teaching/learning of business education. It is also in agreement with the findings of Chijioke (2013) which found that that teachers were aware of ICT resources but do not utilize them while teaching. The findings also agree with the findings of Sango and Aliyu (2018) which revealed that teachers don't utilize ICT facilities due to lack of skills and lack of adequate training.   (2015) who reported that there is always a divergent view between experts and novice on the basic skill needed by in any occupation as the novice is ignorant of the basic requirement of the occupation. Therefore, it is not surprising for existence of the statistical difference in the opinions of the experience and inexperience teachers on the ICT skills possessed by technical teachers.  Table 4 revealed that z-cal (-0.54) was less than the z-crit (1.96) at 0.05 level of significance. Therefore, the null hypothesis was rejected indicating that, there was significant difference between the mean responses of technical experienced and inexperienced teachers on the level of ICT utilization by technical teachers in technical colleges in Kano state. The finding on the Table 4 showed that the opinion of technical teachers on the level of ICT utilization by technical experienced teachers was in variance with the opinion of the inexperienced teachers. This implies that both the technical experienced and inexperienced teachers have divergent views on the level of ICT utilization by technical teachers in technical colleges in Kano state hence the null hypothesis was rejected. This was corroborated by Allan and Trani (2018) who found out that there was statistically significant different on the extent to which teacher utilization of ICT affect the performance of their teaching, assessment and administration. The finding was also supported by Musa and Kanya (2014) who reported that though the essence of ICT is enormous, people will always have different views about it.

Conclusion and Suggestion
Based on the findings of this study, it was concluded that, technical teachers possessed skill in the following; MS word, power point, internet, operating system, sending/receiving email, chat and social network, online information searching, projection system and mobile smartphone. Which are basic skills one would possess in order to be able to operate a computer. The technical teachers were unskilful in the following; MS excel, Photoshop, database, animation, forum and Corel draw, video conferencing, instructional game, interactive whiteboard and online teaching as the utilization of ICT facilities was low among technical teachers in Technical Colleges of Kano State.
Based on the findings of the study, the following suggestions were made: 1. Government should provide ICT infrastructure in the state's Technical colleges in order to have a conducive environment for teaching of the trade subjects and enforce integration by regular supervision. 2. The school management should encourage adequate utilization of ICT facilities by Technical Teachers by ensuring proper supervision and rewarding teachers who comply.