Local Universities should embrace e-learning

The demand for higher education is on the rise while the appetite for a degree certificate is insatiable. Several students set their sights on the coveted paper and never look away. With the ever expanding and use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), higher education institutions should make a proactive move to thaw the mounting pressure on the already strained resources at public universities.A large number of students that attain university qualifications fail to pursue their studies due to the competitive nature of the admission criteria at public universities; while students who can afford, opt to pursue degree programmes in private universities locally, or abroad. Those without strong economic muscle remain at a disadvantage.A move by the universities to fully enact e-learning may come in handy and help the ever growing higher-education-thirsty-population in accessing education while cutting costs in the administration of these courses.With traffic building up in Kigali every day and traffic jams becoming almost a norm as from 5p.m, it is increasingly becoming difficult for the working class to be early for evening classes that usually start at 5.30p.m. This calls for some flexibility on the part of the higher learning institutions that cannot be attained without considerable compromise on the standards.By developing and enhancing e-learning programmes, students can proceed with the training at their own pace. They can access the e-learning course at any time and as much as they need.There are tremendous savings in travel time and cost. There are no travel costs for bringing remote employees to a centralised workshop because the Web is available from all desktops. According to some analysts, the actual time required for training by computer averages about 50 percent to that of instructor-led training, further saving money.Through seamless sharing of academic materials among different universities, the quality of training can be tremendously enhanced. Inter-university cooperation in the academia is the way to go if much is to be achieved, especially in the third world countries where resources are limited.By bringing down the cost of learning, several less fortunate students who can access internet connection will be brought into the bracket of those with the much sought after higher education qualification.