What is Contact Learning

Contact learning and teaching was suspended in 2020 at many universities globally, including in Namibia, to counter the spread of COVID-19 transmission. The study assessed the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on student academic performance per respective offering type (online and contact) using quantitative inferential statistical regression analysis. Data from a total of 20770 student population for 2019 and 2020 academic years was applied in the study. The study established that online rather than contact education offering is associated with improved student academic performance at the Namibian university. However, Namibian students do not benefit from online education equally due to socio-economic inequality. A correlation between internet access and online student academic performance was established. The study has also demonstrated the importance of equality in student offering modes in upholding the quality of higher education. An academic research directed at evaluating the level of plagiarism associated with online and contact offering at the Namibian university needs to be conducted.