Word on the street is that Makerere university‘s woes have supernatural origins.
Apparently in 1920 one Buganda chief whose land was grabbed so room could be made for Makerere University cursed the day Makerere University was born and lamented that Makerere will never be peaceful.
And so it began, on the very day Makerere opened in 1921, the Buganda chiefs whose land had been taken striked. The same thing happened in 1928 and 1942 when the university was expanding. In 1952 there was another strike led by Apollo Milton Obote, then a second year student. And so on…..
The only solution to Makerere’s woes is the one thing someone casting a spell in the 1920 could never have contemplated: eLearning.
At a time in which the university is strapped for money and its student population is more than Makerere was designed to accommodate, combining technology with education is integral to coming up with a final product that will help Makerere provide effective education at a low cost while comfortably accommodating its growing student base.
RELATED: The Top e-Learning Platforms Transforming Africa.
Make no mistake Makerere already has an eLearning system in place, though it’s one that is underused and unheard of in most faculties/schools/colleges and its one that’s not as advanced as those seen in the universities Makerere looks up to or thinks its equal to. This could be down to a lack of appreciation of the system by the top brass at the university.
380 Makerere University Post graduate students reject a directive to resume studies a week after the University was closed. #NTVTonight pic.twitter.com/7R7dU4eS99
— NTV UGANDA (@ntvuganda) November 7, 2016
With more investment in eLearning, lectures can be done virtually with cameras for both the lecturers and the students and use microphones to facilitate the same level of interaction that would be possible if the lecturer were physically present in the room. The added benefit comes in when students are able to replay the lecture and gain even more from it. Students who missed out can view the recording or students that attended can watch it to further their understanding.
The evening programme could be scrapped and transformed into long distance learning. This will cut down on the workload of the overworked lectures giving them more time to dedicate to research. And evening students won’t have to attend lectures at a time of the day when both they and the lecturers are spent, mentally and physically.
RELATED: Bill Gates’ Take On Personalised Learning.
With eLearning the university can enroll more students, from Uganda and beyond, without putting a strain on its infrastructure. This will boost university revenues while making university education available to a multitude as the unit cost of education will be lowered.
And for those who think strikes are fun or are a rite of passage and eLearning will take the flavor out of university education, worry not, there is an App for that. We at Somesa are working on an app that makes the eLearning experience indistinguishable from the campus experience. We shall have; virtual porridge night, a teargas dispenser and you can order from your favorite Rolex guy or hello food when lunch time comes around et cetera.
ELearning at Makerere University – Teargas free education https://t.co/Tyadjzn2Ts pic.twitter.com/VPl7rY95cW
— Somesa E-Learning (@SomesaAid) November 7, 2016
About Somesa
Somesa is a knowledge sharing, training and collaborative e-Learning platform for students, institutions, and consultants to share educational content and material with a specific or general audience
RELATED: Online Courses To Try Out During Makerere’s Closure.