As the COVID-19 pandemic disrupts education and continues to keep learning institutions closed, the government and stakeholders are looking at various options to allow for of the continuity of learning for some students.
As part of this, the government is also assessing the readiness of different universities to fully utilize e-learning platforms. Educationists have advised schools to embrace the new era of digitization where lessons are conducted online,however this come with numerous challenges.
The principal of Horizon International School ,Uganda located in Jinja district,Lokman Cinar, explained how they have managed to bypass the barriers of the lockdown to pursue e-learning lessons which enabled them to graduate 30 students and conclude their end of year Cambridge curriculum.
In an interview with the Ug Mirror, Cinar said that unlike the national curriculum, the Cambridge curriculum exposes students to ICT facilities at an early age which enables them to handle e-learning sessions with ease.
He explained that this was possible because they acquired aid in terms of study materials from the British high commission and Cambridge international which enabled them to train their teachers, parents and children on the tips of handling online lessons.
“This year things have been a little bit interesting due to COVID-19 lockdown and there is an integration from the campus education to online education. I am glad that we have managed to graduate our students successfully. I would say that the integration of technology is needed.Technology is now party of our lives,”he said.
He noted that although COVID-19 is changing the face of education system in Uganda, there is still need to continue with the duo system. He cited some of the challenges faced when initiating online lesson which include , lack of skills by teachers and students on how to operate the gadgets among others.
“It is not easy for the teachers,parents and in the side of learners since this is a new platforms. You need to provide laptops to the children.and the students should be in position to use the skills and ability to use the gadgets which takes a lot of time,”he said.
He added that the internet has become a necessity for us all,so in this regard, he advices the government of Uganda should provide free or low cost internet to the citizens of Uganda.
He further advised the parents to have positive attitude towards e learning which is the next thing to shape the education system.
“Help your children to have the necessary gadgets that can easily enable them to carry on with the online learning.We should not wait for covid19 lockdown. What if is something else happens? This is the time to embrace online learning,” he said.
Some of the graduates said that e learning system has helped them to carry out more research despite some of few challenges of poor network that they have been facing during the learning process.
