ABSTRACT
Purpose: The shutdown of normal face-to-face educational method of learning caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has made the education stakeholders reconsider and rethink education anew in light of the emerging challenges and opportunities imposed on e-learning in higher education in Nigeria post COVID-19. This study investigates the challenges confronting e-learning in higher education in Nigeria amid COVID-19. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing upon data collected through a structured questionnaire administered to 395 lecturers in various disciplines in private, state and federal universities in Nigeria, the study adopts a quantitative research method. The quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Findings: The findings indicate that Nigeria Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are still in the early stage of adopting the e-learning mode of study. In addition, there was no existing e-learning curriculum before the pandemic. Also, adopting e-learning mode of teaching was an uphill task for both the lecturers and the learners, given the lack of experience in information and communications technology usage and inadequate infrastructure to support e-learning. Research limitations/implications: A major limitation of the study is the inability to investigate the challenges facing students in using e-learning tools due to the unavailability of access to students during the lockdown. However, the limitations create opportunities for further studies into the subject matter. Originality/value: The study is timely given that HEIs in Nigeria and some other countries in Africa are yet to adopt blended teaching methods. Literature reveals that most HEIs in Nigeria are using only brick and mortar mode of teaching despite the benefit of blended learning in a pandemic situation. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To estimate the degree of SARS-CoV-2 transmission among healthcare workers (HCWs) and general population in Kita region of Mali. DESIGN: Routine surveillance in 12 health facilities, HCWs serosurvey in five health facilities and community serosurvey in 16 villages in or near Kita town, Mali. SETTING: Kita region, western Mali; local health centres around the central (regional) referral health centre. PARTICIPANTS: Patients in routine surveillance, HCWs in local health centres and community members of all ages in populations associated with study health centres. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Seropositivity of ELISA test detecting SARS-CoV-2-specific total antibodies and real-time RT-PCR confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. RESULTS: From 2392 routine surveillance samples, 68 (2.8%, 95% CI: 2.2% to 3.6%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR. The monthly positivity rate was 0% in June-August 2020 and gradually increased to 6% by December 2020 and 6.2% by January 2021, then declined to 5.5%, 3.3%, 3.6% and 0.8% in February, March, April and May 2021, respectively. From 397 serum samples collected from 113 HCWs, 175 (44.1%, 95% CI: 39.1% to 49.1%) were positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. The monthly seroprevalence was around 10% from September to November 2020 and increased to over 40% from December 2020 to May 2021. For community serosurvey in December 2020, overall seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was 27.7%. The highest age-stratified seroprevalence was observed in participants aged 60-69 years (45.5%, 95% CI: 32.3% to 58.6%). The lowest was in children aged 0-9 years (14.0%, 95% CI: 7.4% to 20.6%). CONCLUSIONS: SARS-CoV-2 in rural Mali is much more widespread than assumed by national testing data and particularly in the older population and frontline HCWs. The observation is contrary to the widely expressed view, based on limited data, that COVID-19 infection rates were lower in 2020-2021 in West Africa than in other settings.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Antibodies, Viral , COVID-19/diagnosis , COVID-19/epidemiology , Child , Health Personnel , Humans , Mali/epidemiology , SARS-CoV-2 , Seroepidemiologic StudiesABSTRACT
Purpose: The shutdown of normal face-to-face educational method of learning caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has made the education stakeholders reconsider and rethink education anew in light of the emerging challenges and opportunities imposed on e-learning in higher education in Nigeria post COVID-19. This study investigates the challenges confronting e-learning in higher education in Nigeria amid COVID-19. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing upon data collected through a structured questionnaire administered to 395 lecturers in various disciplines in private, state and federal universities in Nigeria, the study adopts a quantitative research method. The quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Findings: The findings indicate that Nigeria Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are still in the early stage of adopting the e-learning mode of study. In addition, there was no existing e-learning curriculum before the pandemic. Also, adopting e-learning mode of teaching was an uphill task for both the lecturers and the learners, given the lack of experience in information and communications technology usage and inadequate infrastructure to support e-learning. Research limitations/implications: A major limitation of the study is the inability to investigate the challenges facing students in using e-learning tools due to the unavailability of access to students during the lockdown. However, the limitations create opportunities for further studies into the subject matter. Originality/value: The study is timely given that HEIs in Nigeria and some other countries in Africa are yet to adopt blended teaching methods. Literature reveals that most HEIs in Nigeria are using only brick and mortar mode of teaching despite the benefit of blended learning in a pandemic situation. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.