Online learning in universities – A missed opportunity

When Uganda announced a partial lockdown and the closing of schools and learning institutions due to COVID-19, avid promoters of information and communications technology (ICT), virtual and online-based learning saw it as a golden opportunity that would change the practice of online learning in higher education. The concept of online or blended learning has been on the higher education agenda for close to two decades. There have been varying interventions from a range of sources: bilateral and multilateral agencies and US foundations. At the national level, the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance through the National Information Technology Authority of Uganda has implemented the National Data Transmission Backbone Infrastructure and e-Government Infrastructure Project. This was an effort to connect all major towns within the country to an optical fibre cable-based network.