When the Government of Uganda ordered for the closure of schools and universities on 18th March 2020 as a way of curbing down the spread of COVID-19 pandemic and all students were sent home, the Minister of Education and Sports Hon. Janet Kataha Museveni urged learners to find alternative ways of learning even when they are at home. This followed the issuance of self-study reading materials for primary and secondary level pupils/students.
Luckily enough this unlocked doors for some innovative Ugandans to come up with ideas of helping their fellows in this difficult time. These included a one Ivan Sserunjogi who opted to create a YouTube channel to conduct education tutorials for secondary school students.
Formerly a guild presidential aspirant, Sserunjogi is a student at Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) doing Bachelor of Science with Education a Biology major currently in his final year. When the COVID-19 outbreak occurred in March, Sserunjogi was among the students countrywide who were remaining with a maximum of two months to join the world of jobs.
For the last 3 years, Biology has been among the most failed subjects at O and A ‘level yet it is a vital subject in the health sector. Having realized this concern, Sserunjogi opened up a YouTube channel which he identified as Easy Science International to assist both O and A ‘level students understand biology better with an aim of elucidating passion for Science among learners especially in this trying moment of COVID-19.
While speaking to Campus Bee, Sserunjogi revealed that he had the idea during his second year at MUST but it was not implemented until in this COVID-19 lockdown when one of his OBs requested him to assist a sister in A’ level biology. He found it difficult to assist her since she was far apart from him and the alternatives were expensive due to data and airtime expenses.
“I first perceived this idea way back in 2018 at MUST where I used to access tutorials on YouTube to accompany lectures but almost none was created by Ugandans yet almost every nation offers differing curriculum content. However, I wasn’t competent with how to create content on YouTube hence I embarked on that Research, prepared with hope of producing content after my studies. I did this through 2019,’’ Sserunjogi narrated.
“One week after the closure of tertiary institutions and schools by President Museveni, one of my OBs from Maryland requested me to teach his sister A-Level Biology, something which was difficult to handle on WhatsApp, Skype, Zoom due to data expenses. Then I thought of implementing my initial idea of a YouTube channel which came into reality and I named it Easy Science International,’’ he added.
He said that YouTube being a global platform, after a few days he had received WhatsApp messages from individuals who wanted to extend his service to their siblings and relatives which has even helped students outside Uganda. Currently he is handling Autotrophic Nutrition for A ‘level Biology and Genetics and Inheritance for O ‘level Biology.
Some of the challenges he pointed out are Creating motion pictures like videos that requires a superb camera and lighting plus microphones which are expensive yet his funds are inadequate.
“On YouTube one needs to Subscribe in order not to miss out on any uploaded video. This is through email notifications sent to subscribers therefore I request many to Subscribe. I welcome sponsors who wish to support me to educate our fellows,’’ He concluded.
For more information about Sserunjogi find him on; WhatsApp: +256750706073, Facebook: Alientechsserunjogi Ivo, and Twitter @SserunjogiIvan.
Find his work on his YouTube channel linked below;
