The University of Rwanda response to COVID-19

Abstract

The universities in Rwanda, like in other countries, experienced uncertainty created by restrictions and lockdowns imposed to contain the spread of Coronavirus. None of the universities were prepared to face disruptions of this scale, however, learning had to continue irrespective of the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the case of the University of Rwanda (UR), this chapter discusses the Rwandan university’s response to COVID-19, presents the lessons learnt, and provides recommendations that might help universities and researchers in the future. This chapter reports on a qualitative study that analysed the university’s news articles and official communications with regards to COVID-19 that were collected during a seven-month period. The findings revealed that the university was not indeed prepared to continue its teaching and learning activities remotely online, and that the decision to go online was top-down. Furthermore, it pointed out the lack of access to the required infrastructure and tools, the lack of technical support and training, and the digital divide that exists among students, as the major challenges to a successful remote online teaching and learning process.