Nkumba University Management on Tuesday, 20th February 2024 conducted a policy dissemination and town hall Meeting to bring the E-Learning policy to the attention of students and lecturers who, according to management, are the key end-users.
Organized in partnership with Cyber School Technologies Limited and Mastercard Foundation, the meeting brought together over 60 lecturers and close to 100 students.
In his opening remark, the Vice Chancellor, Professor Jude Lubega revealed that “the University had an e-learning policy but when Cyber School Technologies Limited and Mastercard Foundation came on board, we realized there were gaps, the policy has also been refined to factor in our partners.”
The E-Learning officer, Mr. Joseph Lwevuze, asserted that the purpose of the meeting was to table what management and stakeholders had put together as an implementation tool for the E-Learning program.
“While developing this policy, we engaged all stakeholders; here I am talking of students, lecturers, University Management, plus our partners Cyber School Technologies Limited and Mastercard Foundation, today, we are here to officially share what will eventually be considered as the principle guide to the implementation of the E-learning program within our institution.” Said Mr. Joseph Lwevuze.
Speaking on behalf of partners, Mr. Julius Opio- the Institutional and Personal Development Lead at Cyber School congratulated Nkumba University for reaching one of the most pivotal stages of the program, “I want to Congratulate Nkumba University for thriving through to this level, this is a sign that E-learning is on a progressive stride.”
The E-Learning Policy Dissemination was a Town Hall Meeting that involved lecturers and students putting management to the task of explaining the key areas within policy.
The Guild President, HE. Ignatious Kangave Musaazi demanded to understand the implication of the policy on students, in response, Mr. Joseph Lwevuze asserted that the policy binds both students and their lecturers and therefore calls for cooperation.
Authorities have intimated that the policy will be made known to staff, students, and other stakeholders by, making it visible and downloadable on the university’s main website, sending e-copies to the relevant stakeholders by email, organizing dissemination seminars for staff and students, and Knowledge sharing during orientation of new students.
Nkumba University is one of the many higher institutions of learning that swiftly embraced and adopted e-learning, a remote teaching and learning method powered virtually, however, the University had limited resources to sustain the program.
In August last year, Cyber School partnered with Mastercard Foundation to amplify the University’s E-learning program by constructing a content digitalization hub fully equipped with state-of-the-art equipment including; Cameras, Computers, and laptops.
The project also saw the University’s Internet bandwidth amplified to cover the entire institution benefiting over 7,000 students.
The policy now seeks to bind lecturers and students to the core goal of guiding stakeholders within and outside the University on the implementation of the rapidly developing virtual teaching and learning method.
