Unicaf urges Malawi universities to adopt online learning and teaching
Unicaf University-Malawi has urged other universities in the country and across Africa to adopt online learning and teaching.
The university’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Joseph Kuthemba Mwale during a virtual graduation that the university held on Friday at Unicaf University-Lilongwe Campus.
Speaking in an interview, the Vice Chancellor said the current COVID- 19 pandemic has clearly illustrated the need for online learning and teaching modes.
He said online teaching and learning allow students to concentrate on other things such as work while concentrating on school.
He further said as a university that provides online learning, Unicaf will remain open to collaborate with and support other universities to help expand their operations into online teaching and learning.
Professor Mwale added that the university is currently working with other private and public universities in Malawi to promote higher education in the country.
“Very few institutions in the country were familiar with online teaching and learning when we started our operations here in 2015,” he said.
He further said the situation is currently changing, both at academic level and the level of government and regulatory authorities.
“Online learning has been further validated by our accreditation, which has exposed many academics from private and public universities who come to assess, evaluate and validate our programs through National Council for Higher Education (NCHE)’s rigorous peer review structure,” he said.
Minister of Education Science and Technology, William Susuwele Banda, said government is encouraging higher learning institutions to adopt Open Distance and e-Learning (ODeL).
He said government encourages this to allow more students to access higher learning from their respective homes. According to Banda, the online model promoted by Unicaf University is the way to go.
“Special mention should be made that at this point in time when educational institutions have been closed because of COVID-19, online mode of delivery is very viable so that learning continues at home.
The minister therefore, urged Unicaf University to continue developing and strengthening their systems so that they may meet the needs of students in Malawi and globally.
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