THE EFFECT OF COVID-19 AND THE VALUE OF E-LEARNING ON EDUCATION IN KWARA STATE UNIVERSITY

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Learning is an essential component of human existence. Every day of a man's life, he learns something new in order to live in a changing environment. This is informal learning in the sense that man learns new things when he interacts with his environment at any point in time. However, in a formal learning scenario, learning begins in the cradle and continues through school, college, universities, and the job (Becker, 2000).

Education is a social artifact that embodies hopes for the well-being and growth of the society it is meant to serve. Education is anticipated to contribute to residents' social, cultural, political, and economic well-being and progress.

Education is widely considered as a supporter of human growth, and many consider it to be at the heart of any society's existence and concerns. According to Botswana's educational aims, pupils who graduate secondary school are supposed to have learned lifelong skills and to be employable in the global village (Goode, 2010). As a result, students must achieve academically or perform to the pleasure of the country.

The Pandemic is an outbreak of a disease that occurs over a wide geographic area and typically affects a significant proportion of the population (Cristea, 2019; Huidu, 2020; Jaradat & Breaz, 2020; Tripon, 2019). In addition to the effects of the disease caused by the pandemic, there are many negative effects. In pandemics people are generally stressed and anxious, fear and feelings of helplessness are the most common ones. The people fear of getting sick and dying, losing livelihoods and not being able to protect loved ones and losing loved ones. Difficulty in working and living conditions also increase their fears and anxieties. Especially being unable to work in isolation or getting fired from their jobs.

Lockdown is another stress factor. Due to the isolation conditions, helplessness, distress, loneliness and depressive feelings are gradually intensifying. Feeling fear and anxiety of being separated from loved ones and caregivers due to quarantine practice is very hurtful for everyone. In addition to all these, being unemployed, losing income and disrupting children's education affect people even more negatively (United Nations, 2020; UNESCO, 2021a, b).

Covid 19 infection first emerged in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and spread rapidly and became a pandemic that affected the whole world. The whole world is in distress due to the threats of COVID-19, and the education sector remains one of the sectors most affected by the Coronavirus outbreak. In 200 countries, 1.58 billion children and youth are in the focus of this problem (UNESCO, 2021c).

In many countries, schools were closed for a period of time. In Nigeria, schools were closed for many weeks. In Turkey, they remained closed for 38 weeks (UNESCO, 2021c). With the significant rise of e-learning, where education takes place remotely and on digital platforms, education practices has changed dramatically hence the need for this study.

2. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

During the present pandemic crisis when the entire globe is sailing amid the storm, technology has played a pivotal role. Technological development and the internet have changed the lives of people immensely and have also brought a huge change in various fields (Nadikattu,2020). Especially in the education system E-learning has been found to be a significant tool for effectively continuing the teaching-learning process during the lockdown. The web has become one of the important mediums of learning that opens the door for people around the world to access education easily at free or lesser cost (Noor-Ul-amin, 2013). E-learning has fixed its root specially in the field of modern education. The need of modern learners is quite different and e-learning has been found beneficial for fulfilling their needs. The mediums of E-learning and principles of artificial intelligence are gradually gaining popularity in the world (Misko et al., 2004; Soni, 2020). It is providing a solution to the learners who are unable to access the traditional means of education due to the present pandemic situation.

The COVID–19 pandemic has disrupted teaching in a variety of institutions, especially in colleges and schools. In many countries, the typical face-to-face classes had to be suspended to ensure the safety of students and lecturers. To minimize the impact of lockdown, schools and colleges had to enter into another approach to teach students. Fortunately, current technology enabled electronic learning (e- learning) to be the core method of teaching the curriculum during the COVID–19 pandemic.

Currently, online teaching is commonly used in the training of undergraduates—not as a sole method, but combined with the traditional teacher-led approach. The success of e-learning depends on many factors, including accessibility, usage of appropriate methods, course content, and assessment criteria. E-learning, like any method of teaching, has its advantages and disadvantages for both students and teachers. It is against this backdrop that this study will be investigating the effect of Covid-19 and the value of E-learning on education in Kwara state university.

3. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The primary objective of this study is to evaluate effect of Covid-19 and the value of E-learning on education in Kwara state university. Specifically, this study seeks to:

1. Determine the extent E-learning is being used in Kwara state university after the Covid-19 crisis.

2. Examine the benefits of E-learning in Kwara state university.

3. Identify the challenges and obstacles of e-learning during the COVID-19 crisis in Kwara state university.

4. RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following research questions will be answered in this study:

1. To what extent is E-learning being used in Kwara state university after the Covid-19 crisis?

2. What are the benefits of E-learning in Kwara state university?

3. What are the challenges and obstacles of e-learning during the COVID-19 crisis in Kwara state university?

5. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study will be of great significance to undergraduate and post graduate students as it will pique their interest on the use of e-learning technologies. Lectures and scholars will benefit greatly from this work as they will know the influence of e-learning technology.

Finally, this work will serve as an existing material for future research and reference.

1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

Broadly, this study focuses on the effect of Covid-19 and the value of E-learning on education in kwara state university. Specifically, this study focuses on determining the extent E-learning is being used in Kwara state university after the Covid-19 crisis, examining the benefits of E-learning in Kwara state university, and identifying the challenges and obstacles of e-learning during the COVID-19 crisis in Kwara state university.

This study will be carried out in Kwara state university. This study will only be using undergraduates of five (5) selected faculties. Post graduate students are excluded.

1.7 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

In the course of carrying out this study, the researcher experienced some constraints, which included time constraints, financial constraints, language barriers, and the attitude of the respondents. However, the researcher were able to manage these just to ensure the success of this study.

Moreover, the case study method utilized in the study posed some challenges to the investigator including the possibility of biases and poor judgment of issues. However, the investigator relied on respect for the general principles of procedures, justice, fairness, objectivity in observation and recording, and weighing of evidence to overcome the challenges.

1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS

5. learning: learning conducted via electronic media

Covid 19 pandemic: Also known as corona-virus), which is spread primarily by contact with infectious material (such as respiratory droplets) or infected materials or surfaces. It is characterized by fever, cough, and shortness of breath, which can lead to pneumonia and respiratory failure.

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