By Daniella Bagaya
Uganda Christian University (UCU) students are facing a backlog of academic work due to a shift in the Easter semester programme. The university experienced a three-week-long delay of the Easter Academic Semester following a government directive from the Ministry of Education and Sports for education institutions to push their opening dates to February 10th after the election period. While many institutions were yet to open, UCU had already started its semester in early January and therefore had to halt physical lectures and opt for online lessons.
Although many students appreciated the university’s efforts to continue its programmes online, several claim to have faced challenges such as high data costs for running conferencing technologies like Zoom and Big Blue Button; clashes between domestic responsibility and their academic schedules; as well as lingering effects of the internet shutdown which made it difficult for students to coordinate on social media platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram.
Timothy Mugisha, a first-year student and class representative of the Data Science and Analytics class noted the limited attendance of online lectures over the course of the break extension.
“We couldn’t (even) make 50% of the class, we could make like 33%…” Mugisha chalked this up to the numerous domestic responsibilities one holds while at home. “This is why when it’s time for school, we come to school.”
Mugisha argued that the University is in a unique position compared to government institutions like Makerere and Kyambogo. “(Their) academic calendar was readjusted, so it’s not like they are rushing to finish in April like how it was earlier,” he said.
Although, he appreciates the university’s recourse to catch up, he wishes that students like himself were given a week-long grace period to re-orient themselves and go over what was learned over the online classes.
On his part Gerald Okware, a first-year student of Information Technology complained that coordinating with fellow classmates for lectures and discussions was made difficult.
“Because of the internet shutdown, basic services for communication online (such as) WhatsApp, Telegram were cut off, we didn’t have a chance to properly organise and attend,” he said.
Like Mugisha, Arnold Atuhaire in his second year studying Civil Engineering, says that domestic responsibilities clashed with academic ones.
“The issue was mainly the schedules not being followed. Blending that with duties at home was becoming tough,” he admitted.
Innocent Feta a student in his final year studying Business Administration struggled to focus his attention and retain what he was being taught.
“Online, if someone is talking, there’s not much interaction. If this one is speaking, that one is speaking, then who are we listening to?”
In spite of the backlog, students say they are finding ways of catching up.
Mugisha says he is working alongside his lecturers to supervise the formation of groups in order to do and turn in overdue assignments. Other students, Okware says, are passing around recordings of past lectures.
Atuhaire on the other hand talked of students coming to UCU before the official opening of the Easter semester. This was a choice made by students trying to avoid the dilemma of clashing responsibilities.
“Many people opted to come here, to still do online but from Mukono,” he shared, saying that it offered the student an advantage of added concentration compared to those who were at home.
Other people, like Feta have adjusted by focusing on their strengths and weaknesses as learners. He has decided to work hard and get to speed with what he missed upon returning to the university premises.
