Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha has urged universities to step up efforts in adapting to new ways of teaching and learning, including online lessons in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Universities must transform their teaching practices in response to the unprecedented times of Covid-19 pandemic and anticipate the future through the creative use of technology,” Magoha told a virtual conference planned to assess the state of higher education in Kenya since the outbreak of the pandemic.
During the conference organised by the Commission for University Education (CUE), it emerged that some university students are having challenges attending online lessons. Some vice-chancellors said some students attend online lessons from bars and restaurants where they can get free internet.
The conference was also told that other students attend classes in commuter buses while others log in to lessons while in undisclosed places with noisy backgrounds. At the close of the two-day conference yesterday, some stakeholders lamented that these challenges are affecting the quality of teaching, for instance, background noise that interrupts lessons.
Zetech University VC Njenga Munene said: “We must push for endorsement of online lessons by parents so children can attend classes from serene environments. We kindly request that parents be asked to endorse online lessons so that their children can get laptops to enhance their learning,” said Prof Munene.
His Kenya Methodist University counterpart Prof David Gichoya said: “We need to put excellence in online learning which means parents must also accept it as a mode of teaching and invest in it.”
