Rationale for telepresence technology in universities for the attainment of sustainable development goals in Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

The paper focused on rationale for telepresence technology in universities for the attainment of sustainable development goals in Rivers  State, Nigeria. Three research questions and three hypotheses guided the study. Design adopted for the study was analytical survey.  Population of the study comprised 2, 644 academic staff in the three public Universities in Rivers State out of which 586 academic staff  were sampled for the study using simple random sampling technique. Cochran’s minimum sample size determination technique was  used to determine the sample of the study. Instrument for data collection was a 15-item questionnaire which was face and content  validated by three Measurement and Evaluation experts. Reliability of the questionnaire was 0.81 using Cronbach alpha statistic. Out of  the 586 copies of questionnaire administered, 571 copies were retrieved which indicated a 97.4% retrieval rate. Research questions raised  were answered using mean and standard deviation while the hypotheses were tested using z-test analysis at 0.05 level of significance.  The result of the study showed no significant difference existed in the opinion of the teachers in terms of the obstacles and strategy of  adopting telepresence technology for the attainment of sustainable development goals in Rivers State while a difference existed in the  reasons for adopting the technology. It was recommended in line with the findings of the study that these teachers should be trained on  how and the benefit of using telepresence technology in universities in Rivers State for the attainment of sustainable development goals  in Rivers State, Nigeria.