The Effect of COVID-19 on the Ugandan Education System: A Review
Keywords:
Covid-19,, Remote learning,, Online access,, Education in UgandaAbstract
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change-related disasters, armed conflict,
protracted crises and forced displacement disrupted learning for seventy-five (75) million
learners. It is estimated that more than 1 billion and 575 million students in 188 countries
worldwide have been impacted by schools and universities being shutdown as a preventative
response to contain the pandemic. In Uganda, more than 17.5 million students are sitting in
their homes. The worldwide consensus is that education is vital and must continue amid the
closing of the learning institution. As such, e-learning is adopted although how it would be
achieved is more problematic especially in primary-secondary schools. The responses to
education by a large-number of citizens and government officials vary from country to
country. In Uganda, the government has offered the use of online material via the Internet,
television or radio. Teachers need to adapt to new pedagogical approaches, for which they
need continuous training. The President of Uganda has ordered the reopening of all postsecondary institutions of Learning from 1 November 2021 and others to reopen in January
2022, provided all students, teachers and non-teaching staff receive COVID-19 vaccinations
in addition to adhering to standar- operating-procedures, such as observing social-distance,
washing hands with detergents and wearing a mask. However, vaccine procurement,
vaccine hesitation and emergency of new variants like the Delta and Omicron remain a
challenge. Only 3.4 percent of the target population was fully immunized. As a result, the
threat of continued closure of other educational institutions remains. The question here is:
how can education be sustained? In this article, the authors examined the aspects that
distress the feasibility and quality of e-learning in Uganda. The study found that technicalinfrastructure and accessibility, remote-learning competencies and pedagogies, and the
specific-field of study affect teacher performance, student knowledge, and skills. To
maximise technology-enhanced learning, consider the above factors.
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