Microbiology Education in Nigeria: Common Training Deficits could be Addressed with Modern Educational Tools

• Main Author: Aishat Abdulwaheed
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Society for Microbiology 2019-05-01
• Series: Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education
• Subjects: Microbiology education; developing countries; Nigeria; online tools
• Online Access: http://jmbesubmissions.asm.org/index.php/jmbe/article/view/1595

Microbiology has developed as an important field of scientific training in Nigeria over the years. It is one of the early scientific fields introduced to the country. It has contributed to the development of the scientific identity of the country, through training of personnel and applications aimed at addressing microbial diseases of public health concerns. Recent diseases, especially of microbial origins, have however exposed the poor state of microbiology in Nigeria. Recurrent but avoidable infectious diseases such as diarrhoea and cholera have led to the loss of several lives. Although a complex situation, at least some of these shortcomings could be improved by enhancing the quality of training delivered to future microbiologists and related healthcare professionals and educators. An analysis of microbiology curricula in Nigerian institutions identified several gaps compared to those in developed countries. Although inadequacy in training resources, expert faculty and funding are well recognised, it is believed that several of these training gaps could be addressed through innovative educational approaches. In this paper, I discuss how key microbiology education weaknesses in the Nigerian context could be improved using modern, low-cost educational tools that are feasible even in the face of the existing institutional challenges. Topics such as molecular cloning and polymerase chain reaction are discussed together with how specific virtual classroom and related internet-based tools can be applied to teach these topics in resource-limited contexts. This paper should, therefore, be relevant to microbiology educators in most developing countries.