The Government of Uganda, through the Ministry of Education, intends to implement Open and Distance e-Learning (ODeL), also known as e-learning, in all universities in the country.
The Government of Uganda, through the Ministry of Education, intends to implement Open and Distance e-Learning (ODeL), also known as e-learning, in all universities in the country.
“Through the Education and Sports Sector Strategic Plan 2021-2024/25, the Ministry intends to strengthen ODEL by including it in all higher education institutions, as well as strategies to ensure greater access to higher education,” said the Minister of Education and Sports. ,” Janet Kataaha Museveni said on Wednesday.
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“We want to bring learning to people, not bring people into learning. We want to emphasize the need to make learning available where people are.”
She was speaking at the opening of the fourth annual Higher Education Conference at the Africana Hotel in Kampala on the theme “Improving Teaching, Learning and Assessment through Open and Distance E-Learning (ODeL) in Higher Education”.
The Education Minister said that the time has come to implement e-learning and give it a lot of attention because of its immense benefits.
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“ODeL increases the number of eligible students, increases the student teacher ratio and provides solutions to emergencies in the education sector. It is flexible in terms of time and distance. It does not discriminate in terms of age, sex, religion or physical ability.
Prof. Mary Okwakol speaks on Wednesday.
According to the Executive Director of NCHE, Professor Mary Okwakol, institutions of higher learning and universities must apply for accreditation of the programs they want to teach remotely.
“Since we released the minimum standards (for e-learning) in August 2019, we expect that all institutions that wish to pursue Open Distance e-Learning (ODeL) must develop programs that they must submit to the National Council for Higher Education. accreditation. Post-Covid, programs not accredited to use the ODeL approach will not be accepted. This means that the emergency guidelines for ODeL will not apply post-covid. We have conveyed this position to the institutions both in writing and in various forms,” NCHE Executive Director Professor Mary Okwakol said on Wednesday.
She insisted that institutions must develop programs specifically designed to be implemented using ODeL and submit them for accreditation, or the guidelines will no longer apply.
According to Prof Okwakola, out of the 250 institutions regulated by the NCHE, only 48 (19.2%) have complied and been approved to implement the open distance e-learning system.
“As we roll out ODeL, NCHE remains committed to academic integrity, quality and standards, which are non-negotiable and without which we will provide inadequate knowledge and skills, but which are critical to contributing to development and addressing socio-economic and health challenges. ever-increasing challenges.”
Challenges
The Chairman of the National Council for Higher Education, Professor Eli Katunguka, said that despite the many benefits, there are still challenges in the implementation of e-learning which he says need to be tackled.
“There is still a need to improve digital skills for both teachers and learners, while the cost of internet remains high. Some institutions and students lack the necessary ICT infrastructure such as computers to be able to implement e-learning, while some employers do not accept degrees or diplomas obtained through e-learning,” Prof. Katunguka.
He pointed out that students studying at home lack concentration, while some parents and teachers are unfamiliar with the concept of distance learning.
However, Prof Katunguka advised tertiary institutions to partner with the private sector to provide ICT infrastructure such as computers and internet bandwidth to enable them to implement e-learning.
NCHE Executive Director Prof. Mary Okwakol said the annual conference will see institutions and individuals share experiences and innovations in teaching, learning and assessment using e-learning.
“There is also need to strengthen continuous training and sensitization of staff and learners on ODeL. Examination monitoring should be strengthened and challenges faced by people with disabilities should be addressed,” urged Prof. Okwakol.
