MAKERERE
UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES AND SOCOIAL SCEINECES
SCHOOL OF LIBERAL AND PERFORMING ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF DEVELOPMENT STUDIES
NAME; HUZAIFA YUSUF
REG.NO; 19/U/16441/EVE
COURSE CODE; DES 2225
COURSE UNIT; URBAN FIELD ATTACHMENT
TOPIC; EXAMINING THE DIFFERENT INNOVATIONS IN
HIGHER EDUCATION DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN
UGANDA.
SUPERVISOR; MR. JOSEPH MUKASA
Topic.
Examining the different innovations in higher education during the covid-19 pandemic in
Uganda?
Objectives.
 To determine the different innovations in higher education during the Covid-19
pandemic.
 To examine the challenges faced by the education sector during the Covid-19 pandemic
in Uganda?
Study questions.
 What different innovations are taken up in the higher education during the Covid-19
pandemic?
 Explain the various challenges faced by the education sector during the Covid-19
pandemic?
Methodology.
This section describes the different methods to be used in the qualitative methods, and how
qualitative data will be managed and reported.
The qualitative methods to be used for the field research will consist of semi-structured
individual interviews, focus groups discussions, participatory tools, key informant interviews and
unstructured participant observation. These methods are commonly used for effectively
acquiring and triangulating unstructured qualitative data, for the purposes of consultancies that
are of short duration.
Data collection
Following the ethical principles of transparency, fairness and respect, the researcher will
introduce himself to the Chief Administration Officer/Assistant Chief Administrative Officer
(CAO/ACAO) and sub-county chiefs at the start of the data collection process. The introduction
will cover the rationale for conducting the study and overarching questions, and thereafter the
researcher will be open to answering any questions posed to them.
Ethical Considerations .The respondents were recruited solely based on voluntary participation.
All respondents were briefed on the benefits of the study before recruitment and reserved
the right to withdraw from the study at any point during the interview. The identities of all
the respondents were protected as required by the guidelines governing academic research.
In-depth interviews (IDIs)
In-depth interviews were conducted for both men and women that are heads of household and
adult caregivers.
The interviews will be semi-structured to allow the respondent, to a reasonable extent, lead the
direction of the interview and focus on issues that are most relevant to each of them.
Reasons for using In-depth interviews.
1)
It allows to observe the behavior of the respondent and the information that is in
regard to the emotional feeling which is grateful to the researcher .
2)
It is capable of being used with different individuals thereby making it adaptable.
3)
It allows interviewers and researchers to get more information, since they can ask followup queries or clarifications to the questions they have prepared. Thus, the information gathered is
more relevant and useful.
Key informant interviews (KIIs)
Key informant interviews are undertaken with individuals who have direct or in-depth
knowledge of the particular issue at hand.
Apart from the IDI, key informants will be individually interviewed at the national, district, subcounty and community level.
Sampling of respondents for Key Informant Interviews At the community level, key informant
interviews (KIIs) were undertaken with local opinion leaders who have everyday contact with
their communities (The District Education Officer and The Chief Administrative Officer). These
key informants shared their expertise, knowledge and views on local contexts, changes over
time, and the effectiveness and impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on the education institutions.
Observational visits.
I also conducted short observational visits to 2-4 education institutions that well included
informal interviews with the respondents and residents.
Reasons for using Observation.
Firstly, observation allows me to see the activities of the respondents which are unable or
unwilling to share as this shapes how well I am to collect data.
Secondly, it increases validity of the data collected as the activities observed can explain the
respondents’ relationship in society.
Sample size.
I sampled 20 respondents out of the initial 25 respondents I had intended, from my study area
that was a large group of people, who included both men and women, young and elderly, who
formed the study population.
Thereafter I used random sampling since my topic did not require secretive sampling techniques.
Key Findings.
What different innovations are taken up in the higher education during the Covid-19 pandemic?
ELearning trends.
It is important to note that the Covid-19 pandemic has seen the adoption of Zoom, Skype. This
has seen so much content already published and accessible to the learners.
Digital textbooks.
This is relatively minor innovation and consists of free open-source textbooks; digital textbooks.
It is due to such innovation that textbooks are more accessible than ever before.
Explain the various challenges faced by the education sector during the Covid-19 pandemic?
The low quality of education.
The dwindling of education standards has undoubtedly increased since most schools are not
well-equipped to take on the big responsibility. This is through the insufficient number of
teachers, classrooms, school facilities and necessary supplies.
The competing national budget priorities.
This is mainly due to the vast number of pressing needs that require funds annually, some of
these include public health provision, infrastructural development and trade promotion.
The biting poverty and child labor.
A large number of Ugandans are not able to keep their children in school since they cannot
afford to provide their children with the unfunded school requirements such as textbooks and
writing materials.