By Politico staff writer
The Minister of Technical and Higher Education has told administrative and academic staff of the University of Sierra Leone that the virtual learning environment is the place to be in the 21st century. Addressing the opening ceremony of a four-day retreat called to assess the readiness of the University of Sierra Leone for its recently introduced e-learning initiative, Dr. Alpha Wurie said the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed the world towards the use of technology to conduct business in all spheres of life.
Dr. Wurie noted that when president Bio created the Ministry of Higher Education and created a directorate of innovation with the ministry of higher education, it was based on his desire to inject quality into the academic environment with a particular focus on the use of technology for teaching and learning.
The ministry presented 20 projectors and whiteboards to each of the three constituent colleges of the University of Sierra Leone. He said president Bio wants lecturers to feel proud to be lecturers and to pass that pride to their students in the classroom.
Dr. Wurie told the gathering that the University of Sierra Leone is unable to accommodate the huge number of candidates now qualifying for admission but with e-learning all qualified candidates would be able to access higher education. He said the new Learning Management Platform created by his ministry should help constituent colleges in processing learning materials, student grades and even student union elections without violence as in the case of the Institute of Public Administration and Management, IPAM.
Earlier, Professor Jonas Redwood-Sawyer, the Director of the University’s e-learning center said during the Ebola outbreak in this country the University attempted to use technology to continue its main function of passing on knowledge to students “but it was an ad hoc affair”. He said when COVID-19 disrupted the academic process recently, the University decided to “go beyond any ad hoc arrangement in absorbing that shock” by creating the e-learning center and taking practical measures to get USL to undertake e-learning courses.
Professor Joe Allie, Dean of the school of post-graduate studies praised minister Wurie for taking a personal interest in the development of USL and thanked president Bio for donating the projectors and whiteboards to the University. He said that signals president Bio’s avowed commitment to human capital development in Sierra Leone.
Copyright © Politico Online 15/10/21
