Closure of all learning institutions following a government directive to prevent the spread of COVID-19 disrupted learning in public universities. Universities have been devising ways to help students continue learning from wherever they are leveraging on technology.
The University of Nairobi has been conducting online classes and on Tuesday, successfully conducted its first-ever end of semester examinations online following intense weeks of teaching and learning virtually via Google Suite, Zoom among other eLearning platforms. Over 20 students pursuing Master of Arts in Environmental Law and Master of Arts in Environmental Policy sat their examinations from the comfort of their homes according to the management.
“We used Google platforms to administer our exams-first we invited our students to Google Classroom so that we are able to see all of them and then we used Google Meet to monitor or invigilate the process,” said Dr Collins Odote, the Director, Centre for Advanced Studies in Environmental Law and Policy (CASELAP).
The University has worked a special arrangement with network provider Telkom to provide free data bundles for faculty and students to facilitate online learning especially for students from needy backgrounds. According to UoN Vice-Chancellor Prof. Stephen Kiama, the institution has also put in place mechanism to individually address the struggles that students with special needs and other disadvantaged groups may face difficulties undertaking online exams.
At this time when COVID-19 has made it impossible physical exam sittings, learning institutions are working around the clock to rushing against time to ensure that the leverage on these online platforms.
