Ministry of Education okays online learning for universities

Government has given the green light to universities and other institutions of higher learning to implement e-learning programs to continue teaching during the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown. 

 

More than 15 students at all education levels were sent home in March following the closure of students by President Yoweri Museveni due to the coronavirus disease epidemic.

Some education institutions improvised and started online classes. However, ministry of Education and Sports recently advised universities which had embraced the use of remote collaboration tools to halt the process and await guidelines that would guarantee the effectiveness of the approach.

Now, the Education minister Janet Museveni in a pronouncement yesterday Friday evening in a brief televised address said the institutions can implement e-learning on condition that no student will be excluded.

“Allow me to observe that one of the critical requirements in these guidelines for e-learning is that no continuing learner should be left behind or excluded from learning when a learning institution starts implementing the e-learning approach,” she said.

 

According to the minister, guidelines will be availed to the public by the executive director of the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE).

The ministry earlier argued that given the high digital divide, internet accessibility challenges, and limited access to the ICT equipment would make it difficult to have an inclusive online learning programme. Some parents have also petitioned the ministry of Education to complain about fees being charged by some schools to facilitate online classes despite the hard economic situation in the country. 

Ms Museveni re-echoed that the ministry is working on a comprehensive sector-wide agenda to guide the delivery of formal education through e-learning mechanisms because it has implications on the quality of education for the country and its citizens.

She, however, notes that the ministry will ensure continuity of learning for all students in primary and secondary school through the already said homeschooling programme which will see the government giving out a radio set for every household, two television sets for every village and self-study materials.

“We are in advanced stages of developing home-schooling study materials for the entire primary and secondary education levels. We will provide printed learning materials for all subjects and all learners. In addition to that, all lessons in the printed materials form shall also be broadcast through the radio and TV stations,” Ms Museveni stated.

In preparation for the re-opening of schools, the minister noted that they have already received sector-specific standard operating procedures from their health counterparts which are going to determine the sector’s readiness to re-open institutions of learning.