Institutions of higher learning gear up for online learning
Tunohole Mungoba
At a panel discussion hosted by the ministry of information and communication, representatives from the ministry of higher learning, Namibia University of Science and Technology (Nust) and University of Namibia (Unam) discussed the disruption of the academic calendar by the Covid-19 pandemic and how online learning is a viable solution.
“As institutions of higher learning, we have realised that face-to-face learning is a no-go area because social distancing needs to be practised. We thus decided to engage both public and private institutions by conducting surveys to find out who are affected most.
“Public institutions have already been involved in distance learning, but now we need to cater for a larger community of students,” said the executive director of higher learning, Alfred van Kent.
Van Kent also touched on how small private institutions of higher learning differ from public institutions.
“We have also considered how this will affect business so we are looking at assisting them in terms of advancing their tuition fees as the rescue package announced by the ministry of finance is one option,” he says.
Vocational training centres will also be considered and Van Kent said a separate session would be organised with them.
“Social distancing needs to be applied, so an alternative route will be taken,” he said.
The director of Unam’s Centre for Open, Distance and e-Learning, Maggy Beukes-Amiss, said 50% of the university’s assessments such as practicals and teaching were already covered before the lockdown.
“A number of our core modules such as contemporary social issues have been online since 2016 so this is commonplace for the university,” she said.
“If the lockdown is extended, we have to make sure we are prepared through an online system or face-to-face teaching. One is not less than the other. Quality will be ensured through all modes of teaching,” she emphasised.
Delvaline Mowes from Nust said only 27% of the university’s students do not have access to digital devices.
“About 94% of our students are active on our e-learning platforms. We are fully prepared to accommodate all our students,” she said.
At a panel discussion hosted by the ministry of information and communication, representatives from the ministry of higher learning, Namibia University of Science and Technology (Nust) and University of Namibia (Unam) discussed the disruption of the academic calendar by the Covid-19 pandemic and how online learning is a viable solution.
“As institutions of higher learning, we have realised that face-to-face learning is a no-go area because social distancing needs to be practised. We thus decided to engage both public and private institutions by conducting surveys to find out who are affected most.
“Public institutions have already been involved in distance learning, but now we need to cater for a larger community of students,” said the executive director of higher learning, Alfred van Kent.
Van Kent also touched on how small private institutions of higher learning differ from public institutions.
“We have also considered how this will affect business so we are looking at assisting them in terms of advancing their tuition fees as the rescue package announced by the ministry of finance is one option,” he says.
Vocational training centres will also be considered and Van Kent said a separate session would be organised with them.
“Social distancing needs to be applied, so an alternative route will be taken,” he said.
The director of Unam’s Centre for Open, Distance and e-Learning, Maggy Beukes-Amiss, said 50% of the university’s assessments such as practicals and teaching were already covered before the lockdown.
“A number of our core modules such as contemporary social issues have been online since 2016 so this is commonplace for the university,” she said.
“If the lockdown is extended, we have to make sure we are prepared through an online system or face-to-face teaching. One is not less than the other. Quality will be ensured through all modes of teaching,” she emphasised.
Delvaline Mowes from Nust said only 27% of the university’s students do not have access to digital devices.
“About 94% of our students are active on our e-learning platforms. We are fully prepared to accommodate all our students,” she said.
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