Higher education and the new normal: implications for sustainable post covid-19 era in Nigerian tertiary institutions

Abstract This study assessed readiness of Nigerian Tertiary institutions towards adopting e-learning education as a new normal post COVID-19, identified e-learning packages available for use in the institutions before and during the COVID-19 Lockdown using the E-Learning Survey for Academic Staff and Students of Nigerian Tertiary Institutions (ELSASSoNTI). This research adopted an online survey using a quantitative method of data collection. A structured Google Form questionnaire was shared with academic staff and students of public and private tertiary institutions in Nigeria via different online platforms. Population comprised all academic staff and students of South-East Nigerian Tertiary Institutions. A sample size of 615 academic staff and students responded to the instrument. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results revealed that: tertiary institutions in Nigeria are to a larger extent not ready for the adoption of e-learning education approaches as teaching-learning alternative during emergencies. Majority of tertiary institutions except private universities did not adopt any e-learning platform for use before and during the COVID-19 lockdown. There is lack of basic resources, logistics, and inadequate capacity for the effective adoption and implementation of e-learning within Nigerian tertiary institutions. The study thus recommends, among other things; provision of facilities needed for smooth transition to the new normal, training programs to improve the confidence of academic staff and students in using e-learning platforms. These would improve their e-learning readiness, overcome the usual disruption of school activities during emergencies and ensure a sustainable post Covid-19 era in the higher education sector.


PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT
A new normal evolved in education sector; switch to online for continued learning activities following COVID Lockdown. Considering numerous challenges towards smooth transition to online learning, the study sought to investigate the following: readiness of Nigerian public/private tertiary institutions in adopting the new normal, e-learning packages promoted in the institutions BEFORE and DURING COVID-19 Lockdown. Going forward, 615 academic staff and students of tertiary institutions in South Eastern Nigeria responded to the online questionnaire. Result revealed that; institutions were not ready for adoption of e-learning approaches as teachinglearning alternative during COVID Lockdown, privately owned institutions promoted more online learning platforms before and during COVID 19 outbreak, whatsApp was adopted more than other e-learning platforms during the lockdown etc., significant difference existed between types of institution and e-learning. This study recommends government's provision of basic facilities, logistics cum capacity building for effective adoption and implementation of e-learning within Nigerian tertiary institutions

Introduction
The sustainability of higher education services during crisis and post crises or emergency situations in any society is critical. This is substantiated by the fact that higher education does not only guarantee an opportunity for advanced skills and meaningful knowledge acquisition, and information flow in society as an emergency management strategy, but it most importantly constitutes a critical ingredient for post-emergency societal reconstruction. On the bases of the 2019 global health emergency-the COVID-19 pandemic, and its resultant devastating socio-economic consequences on our society, it has become necessary for stakeholders to begin a restructuring of higher education (a key determinant of knowledge-based societies) to not only suit the realities of a post-Covid society but to also avoid being caught up unprepared by future emergencies.
According to Lawyer and Ngwa (2021), it has gone down in the annals of history that between 2019 and 2021, humanity was entangled in a global health pandemic (the outbreak and spread of a deadly 2019 strain of the Corona Virus Disease-COVID-19) that humbled the world, including the African continent. According to World Health Organization (WHO), the virus originated from a small city called Wuhan located in Hubei Province of China (World Health Organization (WHO), 2020). Following the deadly nature of this virus, WHO declared it a pandemic, and followed it up with a global lockdown after concerted efforts with global leaders. This greatly affected the world as businesses, economies and institutions modified to new models of working and sustainability (Thomas et al., 2022) Nigeria has not been an exception to the threats and challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. This pandemic caused total closure of places known for social gathering such as social, religious and educational institutions while many countries were on complete lockdown just to curb the spread of this viral disease (Olabisi, 2020). The directive of the Federal Government of Nigeria cum Federal Ministry of Education to all workers including those in the education sector to cease work operations was adhered to by all educational institutions, universities, and colleges (Federal Ministry of Education of Nigeria, 2020). Consequent upon this, all primary, secondary and tertiary institutions in Nigeria were to adopt e-learning education approach.
With the online learning approach at the front burner within that period, different countries of the world keyed into its adaptation, while some states in the United States made it mandatory in their educational systems. A number of states in Nigeria including Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Borno, and Kaduna got prepared to adopt e-learning as an alternative to the traditional face-to-face classroom teaching and learning (Lawal, 2020). This is a practice that is very alien to Nigerian educational institutions (Oyediran et al., 2020) especially owing to the Nigerian peculiarities and other challenging factors.
To curtail the spread of this deadly virus, many countries adopted lockdown measures in addition to WHO's recommendations. This lockdown came into force in Nigeria from 29 March 2020 till October 2020. Up till now, new cases are still been confirmed according to NCDC (2022). They affirmed that between May 21 st to 23 rd , 2022, 35 new cases have been detected indicating that the covid-19 virus is still a threat to human life and as a result the covid-19 protocols are still in place especially in public places. In the face of an emergency situation like Covid-19 lockdown, what happens to the educational system of many countries and Nigeria in particular becomes major area of concern to academics and researchers.

Covid-19 Lockdown and E-learning Education
Lockdown can be seen as a global strategy adopted by different countries of the world to curtail the spread of Covid-19 ((Jribi1 et al., 2020). Obviously, the education sector was not left out in the lockdown as schools and universities were formally closed from 20 March 2020 (Lawal, 2020) in an effort to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The shutdown kept 1.37 billion students out of school (UNESCO, 2020). Such unannounced school closure plagued the global system, as government officials, students and academic staff dealt with the consequences of these closures for their learning, teaching, research, innovation cum education outcomes, and financial stability. In order to sustain students' motivation and relationship with their teachers, plans to establish a Global Covid-19 Education Coalition aimed at mobilizing the proficiency of numerous partners and strengthen support to national educational responses emerged (UNESCO, 2020).
When faced with a global crisis such as covid-19 that disrupts both human, social, economic and educational activities, E-learning can be seen as one of the temporal measures to be adopted as an alternative to the usual and traditional face to face classroom learning. E-learning, most often referred to as an innovative method of teaching, has been implemented in the world of education largely because of the promotion of access to the Internet. E-learning has been described as a "new triangle of learning, connecting teachers, parents and students" by means of virtual classroom which is sustained by social networks (UNESCO, 2020). Very importantly, it should be noted that "putting contents online" and hoping students will learn on their own should not be a medium or long-term strategy (Burns, 2020). While we clamor for e-learning, it has been argued that e-learning does not entirely replace the presence of teachers, pedagogical relationships and activities which go on in the face-to-face environment (Saghafi et al., 2014;UNESCO, 2020). E-Learning according to Ebohon et al. (2021) decreases practical skill therefore there is still a need to blend it with face-to-face teaching. It was equally noted from the study of Feyisetan (2021) that the education ministry needs to make an adequate review of curriculum, step up the activities of special education for its effective curriculum implementation. In a similar vein, Peachey (2017) noted that integrating E-learning approach in teaching and learning requires a 'new and extended skills set. Some people are still a bit skeptical about the validity of e learning (Sorokova, 2020). This may not be unconnected with how it will work in rural places with little or no access to internet or gadgets expected to facilitate the e-learning education process. Despite the limiting factors, E-learning is recommended by lecturers due to the possibility of better monitoring the progress made by their students.
One can arguably posit that virtual classrooms can go a long way in breaching the gap between emergency situations like COVID 19 lockdown and schooling. Interestingly, during the lockdowns, many countries employed the use of online learning, installing their facilities to cope with the closure of schools and universities (Lawal, 2020). Higher education institutions (HEIs) are turning to online teaching and learning using face-based webinars via Google Hangouts or Zoom, digital learning platforms (UNESCO, 2019) with digital content and instruction for students and teachers, blackboard, massive open online courses (MOOCs) both Coursera and EdX for free university courses across the globe (Burns, 2020). Others include Eduroam using Wifi connections, adobe connect, video-conferencing solution and online notebook (World Bank Group, 2020) among others. In fact, University World News on Covid-19: what consequences for higher education? ("2020) argued that African educational sector had no better choice than to take recourse to the use of information and communications technology (ICT) to deliver lectures to their students spread across different parts of their countries.
International Commission on the Futures of Education (2020) made the indisputable claim that "We should be increasingly concerned that a shift to remote online learning will exacerbate inequalities, not only in the Global South but even in the most well-resourced corners of the planet" (p. 8). This is likely to be the Nigerian case where it has become a struggle between the rich and poor, between students of public and private universities. Edemoh and Ogedebe (2014) asserted that though e-learning facilities are functional at most universities, they are still inadequate because of students' population especially at the federal and state universities. As such, inadequate facilities could also be a hindrance towards adoption of e-learning by some universities even before and during the covid outbreak. Other pertinent factors that could inhibit a shift to e-learning include limited access to computers and smart phones, incompetence in the use of search engines and ICT softwares, limited capacity for data provision and access to internet. It is important to note that there are students who were trapped in their country homes with little or no access to the limited mobile internet in Nigeria during the lock down.
The Afrocentric model of teaching developed by Professor Peter Akinsola Okebukola of Nigeria's Lagos State University called "Culturo-Techno-Contextual-Approach" postulates that for learning to take place, three elements such as the culture, the technology and the context of the teaching have to be greatly considered by the teacher (Awaah, 2020). Issues such as access, teacher preparedness, school family communication, as well as public and private partnerships should also be greatly considered before resorting to online education (UNESCO, 2020).
This study is hinged on the e-learning theoretical framework as proposed by Aparicio et al. (2016). The framework highlights three principal components: users, technology, and services in relation to e-learning. Explaining the relationship between the three; humans interrelate with the e-learning systems and the existing e-technologies facilitate the direct or indirect interface that arises between the different user groups. While technologies provide maintenance to integrate content, allow communication, and afford collaboration paraphernalia, e-learning services incorporate all the activities corresponding to pedagogical models and to instructional strategies The big question now is how does e-learning function effectively in Nigeria amidst some glaring challenges?
Interestingly, few researchers have done some work in the area of COVID −19 Lockdowns and Education from different angles, however two previous empirical studies exist at the moment; Oyediran et al. (2020) on the readiness of Private tertiary institutions in Nigeria to switch over to online learning during emergency situations like COVID-19 lockdown in South Western Nigeria and Iseolorunkanmi et al. (2021) on COVID-19 pandemic: Nigerian University lecturers' response to virtual orientation provided valuable insight to Nigeria's situation and experience. There is still the need to investigate the situation among tertiary (both private and public) institutions in South East, Nigeria, so as to inform policy formation for subsequent emergency periods hence the study.

Purpose of Study
This study aims to investigate the readiness of Nigerian tertiary institutions to adopt e-learning education approach amidst the Covid-19 lockdown. Specifically, the study is aimed at examining the extent to which Nigerian tertiary institutions are ready to adopt e-learning education approach amidst emergency situations like the Covid-19 lockdown; assessing the existing e-learning packages in Nigerian tertiary institutions prior to and during Covid-19 lockdown and compliance of tertiary institutions to the Federal Government directive.
The study was guided by the following five research questions: (1) To what extent are Nigerian tertiary institutions ready to adopt e-learning education approach?
(2) What are the existing e-learning packages used in Nigerian tertiary institutions during emergency situations like the COVID-19 Lockdown?
(3) What are stakeholders' (staff and students) experiences with e-learning platforms and supporting facilities?
(4) What is the association between different types of tertiary institutions and the promotion/ adoption of e-learning before and during the COVID-19 lockdown in Nigeria?
(5) What is the association between different types of tertiary institutions and the e-learning platforms promoted/adopted before and during the COVID-19 lockdown in Nigeria?

Methodology
The research was quantitative and based on a survey design. Primary and secondary data were collected. While secondary data was gotten from secondary sources like journal articles and related scholarly and non scholarly (Newspaper, Magazines, etc.) materials, primary data was collected from academic staff and students of Nigerian tertiary institutions (private and public inclusive) using an online semi-structured four-point scale questionnaire. The instrument had two sections. Section A was to determine the demographic specifications of respondents (current status; academic staff or student, rank if academic staff, academic level if a student, type of institution; public or private). Section B contained questions that addressed the types and available e-learning facilities before and during covid 19 lockdown, computer and internet accessibility, ICT knowledge and training needs and challenges towards effective usage of e-learning platforms.
The initial draft copy of the instrument was submitted along with the study objectives for validation prior to data collection. The validation was done, respectively, by three experts in Measurement and Evaluation Unit, Science Education Department and Department of Computer, Maths/Statistics of Alex-Ekwueme, Federal University, Ndufu Alike, Ebonyi State. These experts made slight adjustments in the wordings of some of the items and such corrections were effected in the final version of questionnaire. Consequently, 615 academic staff and students responded to the online questionnaire. The reliability test was done using Cronbach's Alpha test of internal consistency and a coefficient of 0.802 was obtained which implies that the instrument was found to be 80.2% reliable for the entire items on the 4 point Likert-type scale before using it for the study. There were two sections/clusters, extent of adoption had a cluster reliability coefficient of 0.798 while the cluster on experience and support on use of these tools had a cluster reliability coefficient of 0.832 which both indicated good reliability. This further implies that the online instrument was found to have a high reliability before its usage The target population was all academic staff and students of Nigerian tertiary institutions (Federal, State and Private) in South East Nigeria. However, the accessible population constituted only those academic staff and students from the institutions who have access to ICT devices and gadgets. This includes laptops, smart phones, online communication and social messaging platforms. The study adopted a purposive sampling technique. This technique was used given that not all members of the intended group had access to an online questionnaire. Only those with online presence in the South East Nigeria tertiary institutions could have access to the online questionnaire.
The procedure of filling the digital online questionnaire was anonymous. The questionnaire was left online for a period of six (6) weeks offering enough time to any interested academic staff or student to participate in the study. To complete the form, respondents needed to click on the shared link, mark the relevant answers, and click on submit button to send it back to the researchers. The link was automatically disabled at the end of the six weeks. Ethical standards were observed as there was no form of compulsion on the participants who were of course volunteers. The beginning of the questionnaire explained to them the goal of the research and they were highly assured the confidentiality of any information given by them. Through quantitative methods, descriptive statistics of simple frequencies, percentages, tables, and charts were used to analyze data from the questionnaire. Table 1 shows the analysis of the socio-demographic information of respondents. From a gender perspective, there was a relatively balanced gender distribution of respondents with 47.2 percent of respondents being females as against 52.8 percent males in a total 615 respondents. In terms of respondent's status, 60.8 percent representing 374 respondents were students, while 39.2 percent representing 241 respondents were academic staff. All levels of students were represented in the study with level 400 students being the most represented level. Also, all ranks of academic staff were equitably represented, with the least represented being readers (17), followed by Senior Lecturers and Assistant Lecturers (25 each). Graduate assistants, Lecturers I & II, and professors had between 40 and 47 respondents for each rank.

Results
From Figure 1, it is observed that Federal universities were most represented in the study, followed by State Universities, Private Universities and non-university tertiary institutions in that order. The institutional representation is a reflection of the influential nature of tertiary institutions of learning in the country.  Table 2 shows that; majority of the respondents (68.7%) agreed to their institutions having ICT staff with basic ICT skills to float multimedia learning. On the contrary, majority of the institutions did not have effective and accessible online learning support platforms (76.8%). They failed to employ the online learning as an alternative for face-to-face teaching and learning during the  COVID-19 lockdown (66.7%). There was also no institutional mandate (67.4%) directing all staff and students to switch over to online learning as a way of sustaining teaching-learning activities during the lockdown. All these indicate no readiness of institutions to adopt e-learning approaches.
The analysis of Figure 2 shows that majority (62.3%) of tertiary institutions did not adopt any e-learning platform before the COVID-19 lockdown. However, universities who did, adopted whatsApp platforms (16.3%), zoom meetings (10.4%) and Google Classroom (8.3%). On the other hand, during lockdown, usage of Zoom platform improved by 7.5% becoming the mostly used while WhatsApp forum and Google Classroom dropped by 0.9% and 3.7% respectively Table 3 shows that 57.7% of staff and students disagreed with ease in accessing computers when needed. Slightly above 60% of the stakeholders have access to internet at home. Slightly above 50% of the respondents agreed that they make use of file hosting services, while below 50 percent of stakeholders agreed to being able to make use of learning management systems. About 65 percent of stakeholders agreed to being able to use office software for content delivery and demonstration, however, more than 70 percent of the respondents believed that parents could not conveniently supply internet data to students during the COVID-19 lockdown and stakeholders could not be assured of access to power and electricity during the lockdown to enable them engage effectively in e-learning. More than 80 percent of staff and students had basic knowledge of the internet, but only about 40 percent could afford personal internet data for e-learning activities. Less than 50 percent of stakeholders had received training and were positive to embrace e-learning. More than 60 percent of stakeholders were in support of the implementation of e-learning in their campuses and departments and that is why about 75 percent of them indicated that they were in need of training on the use of the different e-learning platforms.
Tables 4 and 5 reflect the test of association between the types of institutions and promotion of e-learning before and during COVID 19 outbreak. It was observed that 25.0% of Federal University staff and students affirmed that before COVID outbreak, their institutions promoted e-learning through effective and accessible online Learning Support Platform. However, 75.0% of the respondents indicated on the contrary. On the other hand, 15.6% of the Federal University staff and students affirmed that their institutions employed online/e-learning education as an alternative to face-to-face teaching and learning during the COVID-19 lockdowns while 84.4% indicated on the contrary Across the Private Universities, 59.2% of the staff and students affirmed to the promotion of e-learning by their institutions through effective and accessible online Learning Support Platform  Staff and students (17.1%) of State owned Universities affirmed that their institutions promoted e-learning through effective and accessible online Learning Support Platform before COVID 19 pandemic while 82.9% indicated on the contrary. Conversely, same State Universities (54.2%) affirmed that during COVID 19, their institutions employed online/e-learning education as an alternative to face-to-face teaching and learning while 45.9% indicated on the contrary For other tertiary institutions not Universities (Polytechnics, Colleges of Education), 12.5% concurred that their institutions promoted e-learning through effective and accessible online Learning Support Platform before COVID 19 pandemic while 87.5% indicated on the contrary. On the other hand, the same portion of respondents (12.5%) affirmed that during COVID 19, their institutions employed online/e-learning education as an alternative to face-to-face teaching and learning while 87.5% indicated on the contrary The table thus revealed that before COVID lockdowns, the Privately owned Universities in Nigeria promoted e-learning through effective and accessible online Learning Support Platforms more than the Federal and State Universities as well as other tertiary institutions. In the face of COVID 19, the same Private Universities employed online/e-learning education as an alternative to face-to -face teaching and learning more than the other types of institutions. Furthermore, the Chi-square test revealed a significant difference (0.000*) between the different types of institution and their promotion and adoption of e-learning platform before and during COVID 19 lockdowns.
Tables 6 and 7 reflect the test of association between the types of institutions and e-learning platforms promoted and adopted before and during COVID 19 lockdown. It is observed that Federal Universities promoted WhatsApp forums (17.6%) more than all other platforms before COVID outbreak, while during the outbreak and lockdowns, they also adopted more of the Whatsapp forum (15.6%) than other platforms.  Privately owned Universities promoted Zoom (25.9%) and Google Classroom (25.9%) highly than all other platforms before COVID outbreak, while during the outbreak and lockdowns, they adopted more of the Whatsapp forum (40.7%) and Zoom (18.5%) than other platforms.
Other tertiary institutions that are not Universities promoted Whatsapp forum (25.0%) highly than all other platforms before COVID outbreak, while during the outbreak and lockdowns, they also adopted the same WhatsApp (50.0%) more than other platforms.

Discussion
From the result, management of tertiary institutions in South-East Nigeria was to a larger extent not ready for the adoption of e-learning education approaches as teaching-learning alternative during emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. This follows their negative responses on the readiness indicators which were; no effective and accessible online learning platforms promoted by most tertiary institutions before COVID-19 outbreak, no institutional mandates by the administration of majority of tertiary institutions for staff and students to switch over to online learning during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and no adoption of e-learning by more than  majority of staff and students during the covid 19 lockdowns. In tandem with above finding, a lower degree of readiness (Doghonadze et al., 2020) and inadequate preparedness (Iseolorunkanmi et al., 2021) of the public universities in switching over to virtual/e-learning were reported during COVID-19 Lockdown. The University teachers in Nigeria identified inaccessibility to high-quality internet as one out of the reasons for their university's unpreparedness to adopt e-learning. Above finding confirms the assertion by Kyari et al. (2018) ranking Nigeria 62 nd nation in the world on institutional e-learning readiness.
Furthermore, Oyediran et al. (2020) posited that e-learning has not been effectively incorporated into tertiary education in Nigeria. It could be as a result of the policy paralysis faced by developing nations in addressing unplanned shifting scenario of planning, organizing and managing education in the face of pandemics as confirmed by . The non adoption of e-learning by majority of staff could be predicated on the on-going industrial action embarked upon by the academic staff of federal universities due to outstanding grievances with the Federal Government before and during the COVID-19 lockdown. The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had also expressed opposition to the adoption of online learning platforms in public tertiary institutions for lack of capacity and logistics preparations. Notwithstanding the benefits of e-learning, Thomas et al. (2022) and Ebohon et al. (2021); perceived e-learning as being less effective than face-toface learning. One may justify this perception with the difficulties experienced by some learners coupled with limited physical interactions that exist in online learning which was also worsened by the enforcement of lockdowns and sit-at home.
Conversely, Caliskan et al. (2017) studied readiness for e-learning among university students in North Cyprus and found it positive. Readiness within the frame of the study encompassed online communication and self-learning skills, computer and internet self-efficacy, as well as e-learning motivation. Similarly, Zhang et al. (2020) reported readiness across Universities in China to continue standard online teaching-learning activities during the period of COVID-19 Lockdowns. The University's preparedness to a great extent was channeled on techno-academic blending and consequently the relevant stakeholders (academicians, technicians and students) worked together to make the most use of the transition. Mishra et al. (2020) in a related study reported of an institutional mandate by Mizoram University, India for faculties and students to switch over to online teaching/learning. This was due to a clear vision about implementing an online teaching and learning Percentage distribution of existing e-learning packages available for use in Nigerian tertiary institutions during the COVID-19 Lockdown revealed that WhatsApp forums, Google classrooms, Zoom meetings and Webinar were largely adopted by institutions to keep staff and students continuously engaged. In tandem with the finding, Mishra et al. (2020) identified that online teaching-learning packages like Zoom, Google Meet, Facebook and YouTube streaming were available for both teachers and students and at the same time put to need based use during COVID −19 Lockdowns. The University teachers of Mizoram University received training on MZU-LMS (Mizoram University-Learning Management System) which was developed by Mizoram University, India, once the formal teaching-learning process was suspended due to the imposed lockdown by Indian government. Several studies from different countries have accounted for factors like individual's readiness to use e learning, interpersonal and instructor influence (social) and organizational issues, i.e. technological facilities, finance and infrastructure as influencers of user adoption and acceptance of e-learning within any given culture (Zalat et al., 2021).
Data from the study revealed that majority of the stakeholders (staff and students) experienced difficulty with assessing computers, e-learning platforms and supporting facilities. This aligns with the assertion of Ojo-Joseph et al. (2021) that Nigeria lacks adequate infrastructural support/ facilities for virtual teaching. Such difficulty to access computers could pose a challenge to participation in online teaching and learning if the Universities ab initio had no existing onlineteaching learning platforms before COVID −19 Lockdowns. This is in tandem with Lim (2020)'s opinion that online teaching and learning can become a torturing experience when the pre-set basic features for using digital tools and online platforms are lacking. Majority of the respondents concurred that parents could not conveniently supply internet data to students during the COVID-19 lockdown and stakeholders could not be assured of access to power supply to enable them engage effectively in e-learning. Parents' inability to conveniently supply internet data for students use could be attributed to poor financial capacities. This corroborates 's position that poor countries would suffer impediments due to lack of finance and academic incompetence. In the same vein, Aborode et al. (2020) posited that effective digital transition requires substantial coordination from all parties involved as well as institutional support which include; data bundle and laptops for staff and students' improved performance. Majority of the stakeholders in the current study were positive towards embracing e-learning and other e-learning support services. However, they indicated a need for training on the use of different e-learning platforms. From another study, Yekini et al. (2020) reported that majority of teachers neither had training on how to deploy e-learning in teaching and impacting knowledge nor engaging their students with any virtual learning approach during COVID-19 lockdown. This affirms the position of Bao (2020) that the technical requirements of online teaching are much greater than normal face-to-face teaching for the inexperienced or untrained. This finding underscores a dire need for training and retraining of staff and students of tertiary institutions on the use of e-learning approach and its support services. This is further amplified by Andreas (2020) who identified the importance of advanced education and ICT skills for the essential switch to online teaching during emergencies like the COVID-19 lockdown. Other persistent challenges to effective e-learning in Nigerian tertiary institutions have been reported as: lack of regular bandwidth supply, no access to e-library facilities and lack of access to stable power supply among other things (Yekini et al., 2020;Oyediran et al., 2020).
The test of association between the types of institutions and the promotion of e-learning before and during COVID 19 outbreak revealed a significant difference in relationship. The private institutions of learning adequately promoted e-learning platforms before and during COVID 19 Lockdowns more than the public institutions. In tandem with above, Ojo-Joseph et al. (2021) reported a greater engagement of lecturers from Nigerian private universities in virtual teaching and learning during the COVID 19 Lockdowns than their counterparts in public universities. A lot of reasons could have been responsible for the poor engagement of academics in e-learning. Gurajena et al. (2021)'s study revealed unfamiliarity with technology and insufficient training as discovered among the lecturers. Again, the nationwide industrial dispute between public university lecturers and the federal government of Nigeria, shortage of teaching facilities, inadequate technical skills and non-subscription to the online teaching method were identified for their nonengagement in virtual teaching (Ojo-Joseph et al., 2021).
The test of association between types of institutions and e-learning platforms promoted before and during COVID 19 lockdown revealed a significant difference in relationship. All categories of institutions promoted more prominently two to three kinds of e-learning platforms before the pandemic outbreak. During COVID 19 outbreak, the federal and private universities and other tertiary not university institutions adopted the WhatsApp forum as the most outstanding platform while the state universities adopted Zoom mostly for engaging students. It could be argued that academics engaged their students using more of the WhatsApp learning platform because of its perceived ease in usage and the usual presence of most people on it. From the result, a greater percentage (89%) of private university staff and students concurred to their university's adoption of the e-learning platforms during COVID 19 lockdown as against 27.4% of staff and students of federal universities who answered in the affirmative. This is an indication of fiscal discipline among private school owners who are determined to ensure continuation of academic activities in their institutions even amidst emergency situations like the lockdowns. This contrasts the situation in public institutions especially the federal government owned, which suffer inadequate funding. Buttressing this, Ojo-Joseph et al. (2021) asserted that government owned universities have over the years been denied of the needed funds for human capacity building and infrastructural growth

Conclusion
This study established that management of tertiary institutions in South-East Nigeria were to a larger extent not ready for the adoption of e-learning education approaches as teachinglearning alternative during emergencies like the COVID-19 lockdown. There were no institutional mandates given by the administration of the tertiary institutions for staff and students to switch over to online learning as a way of sustaining teaching-learning activities during the COVID-19 lockdown. The study also identified existing e-learning packages which were largely adopted (WhatsApp forums, Zoom meetings, Google Classroom and Webinar) by institutions before COVID lockdowns. Majority of staff and students disagreed to having easy access to computers. The staff and students also indicated their training needs on the use of e-learning platforms. The test of association between different types of tertiary institutions and the promotion/adoption of e-learning approaches before and during the COVID-19 lockdown revealed an existing disparity. The privately owned institutions promoted more online learning platforms (zoom and Google Classroom) before COVID 19 outbreak. During the pandemic and lockdown, WhatsApp was found to be more widely adopted by federal and private universities and other tertiary not university institutions. State universities adopted mostly zoom platforms to keep staff and students continuously engaged during the lockdown in South East Nigerian.
Keeping in mind the need of the hour, the study has recommended, among other things; the need to improve the availability/quality of online learning platforms in the tertiary institutions as a way of sustaining academic activities during emergency situations. This will prepare higher institutions to get on well with the "NEW NORMAL" in teaching and learning. There should be increased funding to universities to facilitate the acquisition of sophisticated internet facilities and other hardware/software resources for improved e-learning infrastructure and experience within the tertiary institutions. This will by extension advance the attainment of the global education agenda 2030 ducation Agenda 2030 within the framework of the sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The University Managements should provide capacity building for staff and students through training and refresher courses on development and usage of online modules and online learning platforms. These trainings would adequately equip the staff and students with the needed knowledge and skills on the use of e-learning platforms. Technical and pedagogical skills of e-teaching are needed too. This would help to increase the quality of education, use up-to-date teaching methods and face any global challenge that affects the education sector.
Governments should provide and promote technology to enable learning for students in order to bridge the gap created by the digital divide between the Global South and Global North; provide dependable communication tools, and high-quality digital academic experience. The laboratories, libraries, and ICT units should be adequately equipped. These conditions will allow for a success in the services they render on e-learning. If education in Nigeria must become sustainable in Post COVID 19 ERA to fit into the new normal, then it must be repositioned by adapting e-learning as it is obtained in developed countries of the world.

Limitations of the study
Despite capturing Nigeria as the study location, the study was limited to the staff and students of Universities in South Eastern Nigeria. Consequently, the findings we got at the end of the study were limited to higher institutions of learning in the South East and not the entire Nigerian Federation.
Stakeholders of some higher institutions of learning were reluctant to participate in the online survey for personal and institutional purposes. Consequently, the data gotten from the online survey did not adequately cover the views of private institutions in the area of study.

Suggestions for further study
(1) Further study can be conducted to assess the extent to which government and management of higher institutions have improved the state of infrastructure in universities to improve capacity for online teaching and learning (2) Investigating the current capacity building/training need programs available for university staff and students for better engagement and performance in e-learning eaducation (3) Assessing the strategies adopted by the management of tertiary institutions to improve financial basis and capacity for acquisition of needed internet installations and hardware/ software resources for improved e-learning infrastructure