Abuja — FEDERAL Government Thursday reiterated need to increase access to tertiary education in the country with owner of one of the leading indigenous computer firm, Leo Stan Ekeh disclosing that at least 2 million Nigerians can get admission through E-learning.

Education Minister, Dr. Sam Egwu who inaugurated the Committee to drive the E-learning Initiative of the Roadmap for Education insisted that the deployment of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) remains critical to achieving the development needed in the sector.

Noting that countries such as Malaysia, India, China, South Korea, Singapore among others have used ICT and e-learning to fast track their economic development, Egwu said Nigeria cannot afford not to seriously focus in that area.

The Minister pointed out that for the Vision 2020 to be feasible, access to ICT must be compulsory at all levels of education in Nigeria , urging development partners to join hands with the country to integrate ICT in all schools.

Inaugurating the committee which had Zinox, Calfa, Omatex and Huawei as members to drive the Public Private Partnership (PPP), Egwu said that "I expect that by 31st March, 2010 there will demonstrable evidence that our teeming students at all levels have started benefiting from the advantages offered by the e-learning initiative as well as the general populace.

"I urge the Committee to come up, without delay with actionable plans and recommendations that will ensure the immediate diffusion of e-learning into our education system, and also ensure that we rationalize and optimize bandwidth aggregation, and ICT expenditure to be borne by the Ministry, Educational institutions and the other relevant stakeholders"

Speaking after the inauguration, Chief Leo Stan Ekeh promised that his firm will ensure that durable ICT equipments are deployed to meet the e-learning requirement of the country. Ekeh explained that given the dearth of access in conventional system of education world over, e-learning is the alternative and will help solve the problem in Nigeria as witnessed in countries like India and Malaysia .

According to him, it will help ensure that poor students who don't have enough money for transportation and hostel accommodation will still be able to go school and learn online while working Nigerians can aspire for higher degrees without necessarily disrupting their work schedule.He said if the e-learning facility are well deployed, at least additional 2million Nigerians will get admission into tertiary institutions nationwide.

In her own remark, owner of Calfa Information Technology, Chief (Mrs.) Chika Ibeneme said aside increasing access; her firm will help in the provision of security in institutions as well as centres across the country.

Ibeneme said mobile phones and CCTV will be provided but with enhanced capacity to ensure that students can take lectures online as well within 25 kilometers radius of the institutions. Other ministries, parastatals are members of the committee while the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) still monitors their activities as the implementation seat of the roadmap.