As the re-opening of schools and higher institutions remains uncertain, the government through the Ministry of Education and Sports permitted higher academic institutions to continue engaging their students using online platforms (E-learning).
Earlier on in May the ministry distributed self-study materials to primary and secondary schools to keep them busy in addition to that, the ministry rolled out radio and television lessons to learners in the lower education levels.
Africa Policy Centre, a non-government organization (NGO) carried out a study to establish the effect of COVID-19 lockdown on the closure of academic institutions in Uganda. They reached out to 426 respondents from different institutions across the country.
Basing on the research carried out, it was established that a big percentage (73%) of learners find the remote learning tools challenging while others found the home environment unsupportive towards their studies.
“Even though families might have wanted to support these students, the situations wouldn’t warrant this. During this crisis, survival was the key aspect. This clearly explains why some people found the home environment unsupported,” An Education Consultant Rev Fr Okello said.
According to the study, it was noted that half of the students at this level failed to continue with learning during the lockdown, many as a result of costs involved. The costs were arising from the need to purchase equipment and sustain online presence during the lockdown.
