The University of Ghana is continuing with online teaching and learning this year, except for some practical, clinical and tutorial programmes.

The decision is to help contain the spread of coronavirus, Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, University of Ghana, Academic and Student Affairs, has said.

She said looking at the current population on campus, online teaching and learning would be the best approach for the moment to keep faculty, students and staff considerably safe.

Prof Amfo said this at the ongoing 72nd Annual New Year School and Conference on the theme: "Building Ghana in the Face of Global Health Crises”.

The School is being organised by the School of Continuing and Distance Education, College of Education, University of Ghana, on the theme "Building Ghana in the Face of Global Health Crises.”

The Annual New Year School and Conference since its inception in 1948, has been the flagship programme of the University.

She said the University of Ghana had long been applying the use of technology from admission to graduation; stating that the outbreak of the COVID-19 in March 2020, led to the closure of the University, and further pushed for more online studies.

Prof Amfo said though the University had the Sakai Learning Management System since 2014 and faculty trained on it, it was only a few staff who were using it for teaching.

She said though they were already deploying the learning management system in their distance education programme, they had to engage faculty and students on it again and to reassure the students that it was going to work.

Prof. Amfo said when the online teaching and learning was rolled out last year, the University recorded over 90 per cent participation.

She said about 10 per cent of students could not participate in the online internet programme and that for many of them it had to do with internet connections or the lack of it.

Prof Amfo said they also had students who said they did not have the right technological gadgets to be able to access the online teaching and learning programmes.

She said the University had to make provisions later in the year for such students to come to campus and that when they came, faculty still taught them online and said management would continue to create the best environment for teaching and learning to continue in the University.