By Ejiofor Toochi Cynthia
Another phase of online lectures, as the prestigious University of Lagos prepares to conclude the 2019/2020 academic session. Early last year, schools closed due to Coronavirus, then ASUU went on strike, resulting in a delayed semester. In time, many Universities commenced online lectures to enhance academic progress.
Unilag began the second semester with physical sessions, but on July 15, students were told to depart the school grounds. There were fears of a third wave of the pandemic as a few students had contracted the virus; the aim being to prevent further spread and ensure the safety of others. Although, there were also rumours that the closure was due to the school’s inability to pay electricity bills.
Since the 20th of January, 2019 when the school resumed for a new session, they’ve been at the same level with little or no progress. With the changes from online to physical and vice versa, the likelihood of entering a new session before the year’s end isn’t certain. Online classes might be the better option for the varsity during this period but it comes with challenges; the slow academic progress being a major one. This has indeed caused some parents to withdraw their wards from the institution.
Samuel, a 300L student said, “different classes, different methods and it all boils down to the lecturer being honest. Some classes have been very very interactive.The teacher student interaction is still there despite the constraint. I enjoy these kinds of classes because the lecturer is always carrying us along and there’s always Q and A in the chat box. It’s just so organized but there’s always the ‘bad guys’ that just come and read slides to us and just pass time.”
A first-year student, Maryam, bemoans her situation, “honestly, I don’t prefer online classes but, it is a new normal I have to accept it. I thought it would be better than last semester but it isn’t. LMS isn’t functioning well, Zoom class not going as planned almost every time and here we are two weeks to exams.”
Last semester some lecturers were dropping slides for their students, with recordings of their Zoom meetings. Most times, students didn’t bother to attend a meeting. There was something to go back to. Now, on the LMS, students are not given the recordings of their zoom meetings. Many times they get links for classes 10 minutes before the class.
Another major problem Unilag students encounter is the unreliable power supply. Maryam said, “In my area, our electricity is not that stable during the day. I don’t even know there is a class until late at night. To be honest, I have only attended 3 classes since the beginning of this online thing.” Other issues that lead to poor learning include: cost of data subscriptions and a limit on the number of participants on learning platforms like Zoom and Google Meet.
The myriad issues faced during the last semester’s online exams, prompted mop up exams. This time the school administration has decided to make this semester’s examinations physical to improve things. With the prevailing circumstances virtual learning appears to be here to stay.
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