Government to invest in e-learning facilities for tertiary institutions

Government is introducing a learning management system to facilitate e-learning in all tertiary institutions across the country, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo announced at the Jubilee House in Accra yesterday.

The system, which is being introduced to enhance electronic interactions due to the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19), is expected to enable the government to have a better assessment of effectiveness of online interactions.

President Akufo-Addo announced this at the Jubilee House in Accra yesterday when he met with the vice chancellors of the various universities across the country to discuss some pertinent issues ahead of the reopening of the universities on Monday June 15.

The President pointed out that the system will not be used at the high school level, indicating that it will be difficult to deal with the imbalances in the instructions at that level.

“Part of the problem with the senior high school is that it is very difficult to know to what extent the instruction, first of all, is being paid attention to, if they are actually listening…” he said and added that the imbalances in the absorptive capacities of students at that level will be difficult to address if online learning is introduced in the high schools.

The learning management system for tertiary institutions, he said, will be critical for e-learning and indicated that the government will soon put the system in place.

President Akufo-Addo also pledged the government’s commitments to ensure that PPEs are available and the tertiary institutions are disinfected so that they can open to students, teaching and non-teaching staff on Monday.

Also, he said financial clearance has been given for the recruitment of over 6,000 staff to address capacity constraints in the universities.

In terms of modern learning, he said the idea of open universities has found favour with the government and indicated that active measures are being put in place to ensure that universities deliver quality distance learning that the open universities represent.

President Akufo-Addo was optimistic that the reopening of schools at the tertiary level in the wake of the COVID-19 menace will serve as a good example for the country.

“If it succeeds, then the country will be reassured that we can begin to step up with confidence to the future that comes ahead of us,” he said

The Minister of Education, Mathew Opoku Prempeh, said Ghana has done well in its management of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country, noting that even though Ghana’s numbers are rising, most of the cases are normal people who have been infected and have not shown any signs of the disease.

The minister said there is the need to look at the COVID 19 data and resume life because the pandemic has been well controlled in the country.

However, he entreated the public to “act with safety precautions in mind”.

The Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana and Chairman of the Vice Chancellors Ghana, Prof Ebenezer Oduro, commended the President for the great leadership he has shown since the outbreak of the pandemic.

He said contrary to media reports that some universities have decided not to open despite the government’s directives for them to open, all the universities are going to open on Monday.