The lockdowns that have been enforced by various governments around Africa have meant that schooling had to be suspended. As such, many governments have urged schools and parents to continue with the school curriculum from home through “online learning.”
But, how?
What we have come to accept is that the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted some of the shortcomings of various governments across the continent. Especially when it comes to education and telecommunications infrastructure.
African policymakers are known for waxing lyrical about 4IR and online education, yet even before the COVID-19 pandemic, many parts of most African countries didn’t have Internet connectivity - the first requirement for enabling online learning. Added to that, many teachers and pupils are barely computer literate, thus, asking them to suddenly start learning online is somewhat of a shock.
Not to mention that many also don’t have the necessary computers or laptops to fully benefit from online learning. Yet, policymakers have been advocating for online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is not a failure or lack of solutions that we find ourselves, generally speaking, in such a situation. The money is there. The solutions are there.
What is the problem then?
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