COVID-19: SUN Transits to Online Learning

The management of Skyline University Nigeria has adopted a virtual learning approach to ensure academic activities are not disrupted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic. This was announced by the university’s management on 25th of March, 2020, following the directives of the National Universities Commission (NUC).

The University’s Registrar, Mr. Firoj Kumar Rauta stated that the move to adopt virtual learning mechanism was to preserve the health of the students – amid the coronavirus outbreak that has paralysed many countries as well as to ensure students progress with their studies. “Faculty members have been trained on Virtual e-learning platforms to take online classes”, he added.

Mr. Firoj, who is also an expert in IT education, stated that 22 faculty members had participated in the training on virtual e-learning, covering 15 courses for the undergraduate students of the university. “The hardware, software and systems are all there to ensure continuity of studies in the various programmes, monitoring progress, projects and continuous assessment”, he stated.

Skyline University Nigeria is one of the most technically enabled universities in North West Nigeria. The university had a successful head start on transitioning to virtual learning education and have conducted classes from 25th of March onwards, owing to campus closure by the management of the University. Hence, the university is already running digital learning.

Earlier, the Registrar had stated that SUN had established schedules and standards for the online lectures, marking of attendants for individual and group classes etc. As he puts it, “Regular absenteeism, except under exceptional circumstances, can lead to failing a course. And although the students are sitting alone in their homes, there’s a sense of spirit, of enthusiasm amongst them”. He encouraged the students of the university to stay focused amidst other distractions.