Walter Sisulu University (WSU) has had to start from nothing to set up online learning for their students. WSU will only start their online learning programme once students and lecturers have access to laptops. WSU wants the process of distributing laptops to be done by the end of July.
Most Universities were started on their online learning programmes while some, like Walter Sisulu had a major delay due to lack of resources. Other Universities have completed their first semester by now but WSU students will have to pay a massive game of catch up.
WSU's Vice-chancellor for academic affairs and research, Professor Rushiella Songca said:
We immediately had to think about how to save the academic project … But it was clear that we had to include online learning in some shape or form. The original idea was to do both online learning and some form of distance learning, but then we realised that we had nothing in place. So we had to start from zero.
The University began work on the online learning policies at the beginning of April. The University then set out to get laptops and data for lecturers because online learning would not be possible if lecturers could not teach online. Since the laptops were distributed, the lecturers have then been trained to do online teaching.
About 27,000 NSFAS students and missing middle students at WSU will be receiving laptops. According to Songca, 18,500 laptops were distributed by 21 July.
A challenge that WSU was faced with was that a lot of students lived in rural areas and they then had to work with local police stations and nearest schools for students to collect at those places. Students have also received data.
Songca has said, "It would be naive to say everything is smooth, it is not. But given where we were and where we are, we are doing this."
The University also plans to have it be compulsory for new lecturers to be provided with laptops and trained to use them for online teaching as Songca says, "it is not going to be an option".
Minister of Higher Education, Blade Nzimande, has said that by 1 August, the last of the first 33% of WSU students allowed to go back to campus during level three will have done so. The phased-in approach with the return of students started on 17 June across South Africa.
