E-Learning Policy: Effectiveness, Prospects, and Challenges Amid COVID-19

Introduction

While many countries are at different levels of COVID-19 infection rates, globally there are more than 1.2 billion children in 186 countries affected by school closure due to COVID-19 pandemic (World Economic Forum (Li & Lalani, 2020). Given the abruptness of the situation, administrators and teachers were unprepared for the transition. Yet, they were forced to build emergency remote learning systems almost immediately (Donelly et al, 2021). Governments in developed countries already have the infrastructure and readiness to embrace ICT long before the pandemic and has started with already high growth and adoption in education with global investments reaching 18.66 Billion USD in 2019 and the overall market for online education projected to reach 350 Billion USD by 2025 (Li & Lalani, 2020). The COVID-19 resulted in closure of schools and educational facilities in most affected countries for observing social distancing. UNESCO estimates suggest that over 90% of the world’s students are not currently attending schools in response to the pandemic, with over 1.5 billion learners affected. However, within these extraordinary times, one common trend is the increase in academic activities around the world using e-Learning, making a swift transition from place-based classes to virtual online learning systems (Abbasia et al, 2020).

With no successful vaccine or treatment available, and to contain the spread of COVID-19, most governments around the world, authorized unprecedented social containment measures. These measures, among others, included social distancing and the temporary physical closure of educational institutions. Educational institutions had to adopt a digital approach to instruction and student learning, dramatically transitioning traditional in-person classroom instruction to predominantly distance learning where teaching is provided remotely on digital platforms (DePietro, 2020). While distance learning is not a new approach to instruction and learning, the unplanned, rapid, and uncertain duration of the approach, is presenting challenges and taking a toll on students at all academic levels. Not much information on best practices was available to guide such abrupt transitions to school education (Armstrong et al, 2020).

The introduction of ICT in schools at various levels has brought about developments in the education sector. Technology is the best supporting link to enhance teaching and learning in physical classroom setting, as well as distance and online instruction programs, aimed at preparing citizens to participate in the dynamic technologically driven environment. The place computer in the development of the world cannot be put aside, it is a vital tool in aiding the standard of the world; in the current world nothing make sense or is easy to do without the influence of ICT products and programs. Access to learning materials in pictures and writings through the Internet have become so flexible to get even at the comfort of someone’s home anytime any day with availability of educational opportunities. Because of the easiness attached to it, the use of ICT in education has become increasingly trendy globally (Samuel, 2021; Cheri & Abdullahi, 2018). While some believe that the unplanned and rapid move to online learning – with no training, insufficient bandwidth, and little preparation – will result in a poor user experience that is unconducive to sustained growth, others believe that a new hybrid model of education will emerge, with significant benefits.