The Vice Chancellor of the University of Sierra Leone says the three constituent colleges of the university will use radio, television and other forms of media to interact with students who are out of campus because of the Ebola outbreak.
Professor Ekundayo Thompson told a news conference in Freetown at Fourah Bay College on Wednesday that he "did not want the university to start the academic year from a deficit position when situation gets back to normal", adding that all students of the university would benefit from the project.
He said that since the Ebola outbreak in the country in May, the university had been conducting research because lecturing and community service which it had been rendering was seriously affected.
"The University Act 2005 establishes the Office of Vice Chancellor and Principal as the Chief Academic and Administrative Officer of the University and this decision is in line with the Act because the public does not expect us to bring the students on campus in a state of public emergency."
He disclosed that students who had not registered would not benefit from the programme as "an unregistered student is not a student of the university." He said certain aspects of the programme would not cover fresh students, even though they would benefit from the radio or television lectures.
The former dean of the Faculty of Arts and Lecturer of Mass Communication, Bernadette Cole said Radio Mount Aureol would play a key role in the lectures, adding that it was currently partnering with 14 other radio stations.
"We expect to raise the number of partner radio stations to 26," she said, adding that lecture materials would be downloaded on CDs.
The registrar, Sorie Dumbuya said the inability of the University resume normal academic session was not something new.
He said that in previous years they had started the academic years in January, and even in February. “If the Ebola epidemic ends in December, we will resume the academic year in February; if it continues to February we will adjust the timetable,” he said.
The University of Sierra Leone, he continued, would open emails for all registered continuing students. When asked about the specific date of commencement of the radio lecture programme, Dumbuya said they would soon put out a statement on that.
© Politico 21/11/14
