In the words of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “Our world faces a common enemy COVID-19. The virus does not care about nationality or ethnicity, fraction or faith. It attacks all, relentlessly.”
There has been a global shift to the way things are done in our world and education has not been left out.
According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), over 1.5 billion students worldwide in 165 countries have been asked to stay home as schools and universities are closed.
President Akufo-Addo in his second televised address to the nation ordered the closure of all educational institutions in Ghana with effect from Monday, 16th March 2020.
One can appreciate the swift nature for the closure of schools in the country but what definitely took the managers of our educational system off-guard was their inability to prepare for the worst in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The immediate solution adopted by tertiary institutions especially the universities was to move teaching and learning to online platforms.
While some universities took time to plan and partner telecommunications company for the completion of the semester, others instructed lecturers and students to use social media sites such as WhatsApp and Telegram as platforms for teaching and learning.
Issues of lack of internet data, network challenges, unavailability of electronic devices and failure to engage student leaders are some of the many issues that have challenged the online learning system. The Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service also decided to come out with a blanket online learning platform for students at the basic and high school levels.
With such haphazard arrangements, one is tempted to ask what the data universities have about students is being used for. How can the Ministry of Education and Ghana Education Service think that a blanket online learning system will work when a new educational curriculum was introduced quite recently?
If as a nation we think an online learning system is a way to go when we have not fully improved the quality of our telecommunication infrastructure across the country and when the cost of internet data is still on the high, then we have indirectly decided that the poor and thousands of students in areas with the poor mobile network will either have to drop out of school or be disadvantaged by this system.
With the advancement of technology, policymakers and school administrators failed to gradually incorporate online platforms into teaching and learning. It is very sad to see students at the basic level learn ICT without computers. It is even more worrying to have students at the tertiary level still submit assignments and paper. Some students at this level do not have functional email addresses and will oppose any move to.
As many students in various campuses across the country oppose progress by their managements for online examinations, let not school managements and administrators be quick to say students do not want to write exams but they must try to engage the student front with key stakeholders in tertiary education in Ghana.
Legal issues may arise if all parties involved in the educational space do not thoughtfully put plans together that will be of benefit to all.
Instead of a blanket move by the Ministry of Education and Ghana Education Service for students to continue learning, they must decentralize their approach. The nation must be clustered and a needs assessment made to help every Ghanaian get good, quality education.
Technology will always be an enabler or a disrupter depending on how well it is used. COVID-19 gives us a perfect opportunity to learn from our mistakes as a nation and strive to make this work.
We must begin to take our data collection seriously and plan with such data for the development of our country. Never again should we ever be confronted with a challenge of this magnitude and throw our hands in despair.
Michael Sa-Ambo
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Michael Sa-Ambo is a consummate writer who is passionate about development on the African continent. His area of interest is in current affairs, personal development and communication.
