IMPACT OF ICT COMPETENCE ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF OFFICE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT (OTM) STUDENTS IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN DELTA STATE

Abstract

This study examines the impact of ICT competence on the academic performance of Office Technology and Management (OTM) students in tertiary institutions in Delta State, Nigeria. ICT competence has become a critical requirement in modern office education due to the increasing digitalization of administrative processes and learning environments. The study adopted descriptive survey research design, the study was carried out in four tertiary institutions in Delta state namely Federal College of Education (Technical) Asaba, Delta State College of Education Warri, Delta state University Abraka and University of Delta Agbor. The population of the study comprised 102 students in OTM  .Convenient  sampling technique was used to select eighty (80) from the population of the study The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire tittled Impact of ICT Competence on the Academic Performance of Office Technology and Management Students in Tertiary Institutions in Delta State Questionaire (ITCCAPOTMSQ).The instrument was validated by two experts in measurement and evaluation  Federal College of Education (Technical) Asaba and another from OTM department University of Delta Agbor. The corrections and recommendations provided were utilized to enhance the quality of the instrument employed for data collection. The reliability of the instrument was established using the Cronbach Alpha technique, which produced a reliability coefficient of 0.73, indicating that the instrument was reliable for the study. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions and analyze the data collected. The findings indicate that while ICT competence significantly enhances academic performance, the effectiveness of ICT integration in tertiary institutions largely depends on the availability of adequate infrastructure, institutional support, and continuous ICT training.Based on the findings, it was recommended that Tertiary institutions in Delta State should provide adequate ICT facilities such as modern computer laboratories, internet services, projectors, and digital learning platforms to improve students’ access to ICT tools. School management and government agencies should organize regular ICT training programmes and workshops for students and lecturers to improve digital competence and effective utilization of ICT tools in teaching and learning.