Academics empowered for challenges in 2021
Hundreds of academics at 28 universities across the African continent are facing online teaching and learning in 2021 head-on, thanks to a training initiative preparing them for the challenges of the year ahead.
When COVID-19 hit the world in 2020, higher education in many African universities was in chaos. Some institutions closed, and others were not adequately prepared to shift the delivery of their programmes to the virtual space.
Besides infrastructural challenges, many university teaching staff lacked digital competencies to facilitate teaching and learning online.
This was exacerbated by a predominantly poor attitude towards online programmes which are perceived as inferior to face-to-face programmes.