Kyambogo University to parents: Buy key e-learning gadgets for your children

Kyambogo University has urged parents and guardians to prioritise purchasing e-learning gadgets to facilitate online lessons, especially during the continued closure of educational institutions.

The university vice chancellor Prof. Eli Katunguka said that online lessons have been disrupted due to lack of necessary materials and gadgets like smartphones and laptops by students.

Katunguka made the remarks on Monday, while addressing the press ahead of the university’s 17th graduation ceremony.

"We encourage parents, those who can afford, to buy their students these items so that learning can continue during this period," Prof. Katunguka said.

The Kyambogo vice chancellor said that students sitting at home and being idle for months could lead to adverse effects.

“When institutions finally re-open, they (students) might find the whole routine of having to go to lectures and learning cumbersome. So let us facilitate online learning," he said.

Since education institutions closed in June on presidential directives to counter the spread of the Coronavirus, some universities and schools opted to keep students engaged with online lessons.

Prof Katunguka said online learning arrangements at the university have been affected by conditions beyond their control.

"The cost of data for example... data is still expensive in this country, lack of power to charge the gadgets for those that have them, and some students do not have the gadgets,” Prof. Katunguka told the press.

Kyambogo University is set to hold its 17th graduation ceremony next month, between September 21-25, 2021, ending months of waiting for many final year students.