E-learning for schooling pupils

Women’s Institute for Leadership Development (WILD) participated in an online advocacy meeting that was facilitated by Ward Advocacy Committee members from Gwanda. The meeting was focusing on the impact of online learning and the challenges that learners could face in accessing online learning platforms. Attending the meeting as discussants were Mr M Dube and Mr V Tshili who were representing local primary schools in Gwanda.

Mr Dube one of the discussants noted that online learning requires a lot of resources for it to work including data, smartphones and network coverage. He said that online learning presents more chances of reducing the spread of COVID-19 however it is not easily accessible due to the expenses associated with it. He also noted that other areas out of Gwanda urban do not have internet network coverage, the concern now is how will pupils from those areas connect to the online learning platforms. He also expressed concern as to how the teachers will evaluate the impact as in most cases not all pupils are accessing the lessons. Most children do not have data to send back the work done

Mr Tshili as one of the guest speakers said that the advantage of online learning is that learning continues even outside the classrooms. He however said that the impacts of online learning positive outcomes are outweighed by the challenges that come with it as it is costly and it seems learning institutions currently do not have any budgets for it. He went on to further say that the concern is that is there a guarantee that all teachers are able to conduct lessons with ease, meaning are all teachers ICT friendly. He also raised a concern as to whether learners have appropriate gadgets at home for online learning. He also raised concern as to whether the online learning platforms can be monitored to ascertain that is it the student who is doing the work.

Mr Tshili went on to say that the online learning is adding more burden to parents especially women who will have the task of monitoring the school work at home, will they have time to do so in view of the current socio-economic challenges that the country is experiencing. He also noted that another challenge is that online learning requires regular power supply, is power readily available in all communities. He went to say although online learning is a good alternative given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it seems to have more challenges to learning institutions, teachers, learners and parents as well

Cost of data bundles was the major drawback that  women who participated in the meeting identified. Zimbabwe data tariffs are high and they do not allow the luxury of online learning. The women pointed out that many families in Gwanda are struggling to put food on their tables and the issue of online learning rarely crosses their minds.

The women who participated in the meeting also pointed out that the majority of school in Gwanda are located in rural areas and people there do not have any knowledge pertaining to online learning. The majority of learners especially in primary school do not have personal gadgets to use when learning online and this could create an uneven playing field for learners.

Women bemoaned that Matabeleland already has a low pass rate and the adoption of online learning would not help to do much to improve the pass rate as most parts do not have good network reception. Online learning also requires that learners be computer literate and it would pose a challenge for most rural learners who are computer illiterate. The women also pointed out that some learners require a teacher to explain further on some topics.

The participants acknowledged that online learning is a great initiative to stop the spread of COVID-19, however the positives of e-learning are outweighed by the negatives hence there is need by the government to proffer working and feasible solutions in addressing the challenges that come with online learning.

Mr Tshili said that despite the challenges being raised, online learning is now the new normal and every parent should take steps to cultivate it in their children. He said that this is the modus operandi that has to be encouraged in the face of COVID-19 until such a time that the relevant authorities decide when it will be safe for schools to be opened.