UNETHICAL PRACTICES IN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) IN NIGERIAN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

Abstract

In response to growing pressure to prepare children for life in a digital world, schools have engaged in wide scale integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) into classrooms. The use of the Internet, assistive technologies, learning management systems and mobile technologies has become a central component of educational practices reflecting a broader social dependence on digital technologies and the desire of the educational community to utilize ICT as a tool to enhance learning. However, unethical practices have seriously undermined the provision of quality and sustainable education in Nigeria. The use of ICT in education has given birth to a host of legal and ethical issues in Nigeria. This is borne out of the fact that overall goals of the education sector as enunciated in the National policy on education can hardly be achieved by stakeholders without a strict adherence to laid down rules and regulations. This paper critically xrayed unethical practices in ICT that have bedeviled our education system in Nigeria. Several ethical issues such as plagiarism, hacking, cyber-bullying, and piracy amongst others were identified as major ethical issues related to ICT. The paper also postulated that policing ICT use through acceptable policies, Internet safety education, content filter software, amongst others are measures and strategies required for global information to be exploited in a socially and ethically sensitive way for our future benefit and application.