E-LEARNING DOES NOT MEET THE UNITED NATIONS POLICY OF ACCESSIBLE EDUCATION - UDS-NYC NUGS LAMENT.

With respect to the directive given to all universities to implement E-LEARNING, the national union of Ghana students, UDS-NYANKPALA chapter has a considerable suggestion for the school management to digest on.

Google definesE-learning as a learning system that we can obtain through the internet using an electronic device. “E-learning is a training provided via a computer or other digital device, allowing technology to facilitate learning anytime, anywhere.”

First of all, the quest of management to ensure that students continue to receive education even in these bizarre times is laudable and shows the extent to which management has the interest of students at heart.
There are however a number of bottlenecks that do not make this decision plausible.  The University fraternity is made up of students from all walks of life.
There are students who are duly members of the University community who find themselves in deprived areas where internet connectivity is best described as bad.

 An online class is primarily hinged on the speed and quality of internet service and so as it is, the numerous students of the university who predominantly reside in these areas will struggle to go through these online sessions if not completely fail to access.

One other blatant fact we must not lose sight of is the conspicuous lack of access to electricity in many parts of the northern part of the country where the UDS finds itself. Lack of access to electricity apparently is an indication that students cannot power the electronic devices and keep them active for the required number of hours that the online sessions would take.
This will create a disparity in ease of access to the good quality tutelage our hard working lecturers are guaranteed to render. Let us refuse to forget the student - institution contract stipulated in the admission letter of every student that obliges the school to ensure that students receive what is due them in a considerable holistic beneficial way to everyone.

               H.E. SAANAA PUGBERA RAMID
          (LOCAL NUGS PRESIDENT FOR UDS NYANKPALA CHAPTER)

The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation ( UNESCO ) in a report on education across the world raises the issue of educational inequity emanating as a result of the disparity in access to technological devices by students thereby giving those from well to do backgrounds an advantage over their counterparts which does not help in reaching the United Nations policy on education becoming accessible to all.

As currently suffered by our colleagues in other universities, a number of the technologies available to us for this E-learning conundrum have the issue of limitation to the number of participants. For instance, a class that takes 60 or 70 students in a traditional lecture room now accommodates only 20 - 30 students. Leaving the rest of the students at a disadvantage.

The issue of data cost has been discussed time without number with many calling on the various telecommunication companies to help alleviate this burden especially on students more especially in this period of slow economic activity, until such time that these companies heed to this advice, it remains a burden and must be very well considered in taking decisions of these kind. My international students find it very difficult to meet up this task due to financial constraints as a result of happenings in their various countries of origin.

We accept as true that some universities in the country are currently running E-learning amidst the challenges that it presents but these reasons enumerated in this statement are peculiar to students of the UDS after a careful research and interaction with a substantial number of the students by the NUGS chapter of the university

Recommendation
We humbly request that, management should ensure, lecturers provide learning materials to students through their course representatives so that, for the time being, students can study.

Thank you

Signed....

SAANA PUGBERA RAMID 

(LOCAL NUGS PRESIDENT, UDS- NYANKPALA CAMPUS)

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