Degree programmes blending online and in-person classes are of similar quality to those attained the traditional way, education experts have said.
A study by the Association of Commonwealth Universities shows that 91 per cent of respondents across Africa thought blended degrees could replace the face-to-face programmes.
The study was conducted in public universities within the former British colonies that make up the Commonwealth.
Fiona Khandoker, project manager at the ACU, said if properly implemented, a blended degree has the same weight as an in-person learning programme.
Khandoker spoke on Wednesday, during the third biennial webinar on the state of university education in Kenya organised by the Commission for University Education.
She said students will benefit a great deal from both online and in-person teaching and learning.
Many institutions in Kenya have adopted online learning to complete courses and programmes following disruptions by the Covid-19 pandemic. This endorsement of the new methods is welcome news for many.
Stephen Kiama, the University of Nairobi vice-chancellor said students pursuing masters and doctorate degrees have expressed a preference for online programmes.
Kiama said the University of Nairobi managed to shift operations online soon after the outbreak of the coronavirus.
According to KCA University vice-chancellor Joshua Bagaka, the success of online programmes can be achieved on the strength of five pillars. They include infrastructure, faculty empowerment, student accessibility, remote assessment and quality assurance and analytics.
Bagaka said that in the early phase of online programmes, there was huge resistance from both the tutors and students.
“When we launched the online platform, the system collapsed the next morning… and when students are frustrated at this time and age, they take it to social media to complain. We had to halt the programme,” Bagaka said.
Kenya, like most countries in the sub-Saharan Africa, Khandoker says, still lags behind in setting up out-of-class learning programmes.
A digital connectivity problem is also an impediment to online learning.
