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E-LEARNING EXPERIENCE OF STUDENTS FROM SOME SELECTED CAMEROON

HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS DURING THE COVID-19 LOCKDOWN

Article · January 2024

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 E- LEARNING EXPERIENCE OF STUDENTS FROM
SOME SELECTED CAMEROON HIGHER EDUCATION
INSTITUTIONS DURING THE COVID-19 LOCKDOWN

Gael FOKAM DJOUGUELA

University of Yaounde 1, Cameroon
[email protected]
Clovis D. MBEUDEU
Zhejiang Normal University, China
[email protected]

Abstract
This study sought to investigate the e-learning experience of students from Cameroon Higher Education
Institutions (HEIs) during the COVID-19 lockdown. The researcher designed and administered an
online questionnaire to collect data from students of institutions of higher learning across Cameroon.
The single page questionnaire with closed-ended items underwent some pre-testing on a reduced online
sample and was validated with excel statistical tool. The results obtained from the 49 participants
who filled and submitted the questionnaire via WhtasApp revealed many interesting findings. Firstly,
most students during the COVID-19 lockdown had internet access only through their smart phones
and the mostly accessible media were WhatsApp, Facebook, Gmail and Yahoo mail. Secondly,
WhatsApp was by far the most used tool for e-learning instruction. Thirdly, most schools instead of
using interactive learning platforms like Zoom, Skype, and Google classroom heavily relied on strategies
such as the sharing of documents on WhatsApp groups. Fourth, the key difficulties that prevented most
students from effectively taking part in the e-learning process were poor internet and electricity blackouts.
This led to students’ fair satisfaction on their e- learning experience. Fifth, an overwhelming majority of
respondents strongly suggested that for a better organization of e-learning initiatives in the future, HEIs
should design and teach a course that can equip students with e- learning competences. The researcher
makes some strong recommendations to different stakeholders of Cameroon Higher Education to
improve distance education in the future.
Keywords: e- learning experience, higher education, covid-19, enhe

Résumé
Cette étude porte sur l'expérience d'apprentissage en ligne des étudiants des institutions d'enseignement
supérieur (IES) du Cameroun pendant la période de confinement du COVID-19. Le chercheur a
conçu et administré un questionnaire en ligne pour recueillir des données auprès des étudiants des
institutions d'enseignement supérieur du Cameroun. Le questionnaire d'une page avec des questions
fermées a été soumis à un pré-test sur un échantillon réduit en ligne et a été validé avec l'outil statistique
Excel. Les données obtenues auprès des 49 participants qui ont rempli et soumis le questionnaire via
WhtasApp ont révélé de nombreux résultats intéressants. Tout d'abord, la plupart des étudiants
pendant la période du confinement n'avaient accès à Internet que par le biais de leurs Smartphones et
les médias les plus accessibles étaient WhatsApp, Facebook, Gmail et Yahoo mail. Deuxièmement,

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WhatsApp était de loin l'outil le plus utilisé pour l'enseignement en ligne. Troisièmement, la plupart
des écoles, au lieu d'utiliser des plates-formes d'apprentissage interactives comme Zoom, Skype et salle
de classeGoogle, se sont appuyées sur le partage de documents dans les fora WhatsApp.
Quatrièmement, les principales difficultés qui ont empêché la plupart des étudiants de participer
efficacement au processus d'apprentissage en ligne sont la mauvaise qualité d'internet et les coupures de
courant. Les étudiants sont donc assez satisfaits de leur expérience d'apprentissage en ligne.
Cinquièmement, une majorité écrasante de répondants a fortement suggéré que pour une meilleure
organisation des opportunités d'apprentissage en ligne à l'avenir, les établissements devraient concevoir et
enseigner un cours qui puisse outiller les étudiants en compétences d'apprentissage en ligne. Le chercheur
fait quelques recommandations fortes aux différents acteurs de l'enseignement supérieur camerounais
pour améliorer l'enseignement à distance à l'avenir.
Mots-clés: e- learning, enseignement supérieur, Cameroun, covid-19, enhe

Introduction

Various attempts at promoting different forms of e-learning and

distance education in Cameroon Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)
and secondary education institutions since the 1990’s have been traced
in the existing body of literature. This has been achieved either through
research or reference texts (Pecku, 1998; Republic of Cameroon, 2001;
Fonkoua, 2006; Lamago, 2011; Béché, 2013; Alemnge, 2015; Nkwenti,
2016; Nono & Kouakep, 2016; Nkwenti, 2017; Alemnge, 2018 a & b;
Ministry of Higher Education Cameroon, 2018; Kouakep & Mafouen,
2020). Studies carried out by researchers on e-learning initiatives in
Cameroon trace the history and development of distance education in
Cameroon on one hand and the various projects completed on the
other hand; without forgetting the latest project under completion
better known as the E- National Higher Education (ENHE, for short).
The government of the Republic of Cameroon, since the year 2001, has
spared no efforts in encouraging the use of Information
Communication Technology (ICT) not only in organising and
disseminating instruction across the school system, but also in
supporting continuous professional development of teachers
(Mbeudeu, 2019b). The latest visible project in higher education is the
ENHE. The latter has been translated by some significant happenings
recently. A case in point is the first component of the project known as
one-student, one computer, which saw a successful completion. This
phase saw the acquisition, transportation, distribution and maintenance
of 500,000 laptops for students registered in HEIs across the nation.
The second phase of the project dwells on the development of e-
leaning and e-administration for Cameroon higher education. As of

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now, this component is taking shape via the construction, equipment
and commissioning of nine digital development centres in state
universities (Ministry of Higher Education Cameroon, 2018). The
ENHE is a huge project, which has the following components:
i. the establishment in state universities of efficient hardware
(computer and telecommunication networks, data centres) and
intangible infrastructure (e- administration and e- learning),
ii. the facilitation of students’ access to digital terminals; and
iii. the development of skills essential to the digital transformation
of the Cameroonian University (Ministry of Higher Education,
2018).
A close look at the project fact sheet shows that the cost of the project
stands at 937,500,000 Yuan. The duration of execution is 24 months.
As for the financial terms, Eximbank-China is financing the project
through a concessional loan with a 2% interest rate and a repayment
term of 20 years. From the foregoing, it is worth mentioning that the e-
learning component has a sub-component, which caught the
researcher’s interest. The researcher is interested in sub-component 2
on e-learning, which consists of the digital development of centres for
distance education and is translated through virtual classrooms,
computer system for managing distance education, a studio for
digitalising and producing multimedia courses, and an access server to
the national virtual library (Ministry of Higher Education, 2018). The
history and development of e-learning in Cameroon stands a long
tradition and still has a long way to go in order to be more efficient in
times marked by the COVID-19. Nevertheless, there is an unseen
benefit in the pipe when we consider the last phase of the ENHE
project. Upon completion, this project will take Cameroon higher
education to a fully digitalised environment. From the foregoing, there
is a gap in the existing literature as concerns the experience of students
on the provision of e-learning in HEIs across Cameroon during the
school closure due to the COVID-19 health pandemic.

Objectives of the study

The main objective of the study was to explore the e-learning

experience of students from some selected HEIs in the Republic of
Cameroon.

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The following secondary objectives supported the main objective of the
survey stated above:
i. Establish the common means used by HEIs students to
participate in e-learning initiatives offered by their schools;
ii. Identify the best channels through which higher education
students accessed e-learning contents during the lockdown;
iii. Identify the methods used by various institutions to organise
and share instruction online;
iv. Find difficulties that prevented students from effectively
participating in online classes organized by different
institutions and the students’ level of satisfaction
The originality of this study is its contribution in understanding the
strategies put in place by HEIs to organise online instruction.

1. Literature review and theoretical framework

Key enablers of distance education could effectively be used to support

e-learning in higher education if they were completely put in place in all
state universities before the occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic in
the country in March 2020.

1.1. Distance education in Cameroon: brief history

The history and development of distance education in Cameroon can
be traced back to 1990’s. In fact, The Faculty of Agronomic Science,
University of Dschang launched the most efficient distance education
program in 1990. The vision of this distance-learning programme was
“to create opportunities for people, particularly women and agriculture
technicians to learn while they earn”. The University of Buea launched
a similar programme in 2010. The vision of the latter was “to enable
those already in the field to be able to upgrade their skills without
necessarily being absent from their places of work”. While the first
programme targets agriculture technicians and women specifically, the
second one targets in-service teachers who need continuing
professional development to grow in their professions (Alemnge, 2015;
Alemnge, 2018a and b). The state took other initiatives through the
Ministry of Higher Education to offer more distance learning
initiatives.

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 1.2. Cameroon institutional response to COVID-19
Indeed, Cameroon government’s response to limit the spread of
COVID-19 became official on March 17, 2020, after the confirmation
of some imported cases. The Prime Minister Head of Government
during a press briefing officially announced Cameroon’s holistic
approach to combat the virus (CRTV Radio News, 2020). The
approach came when the civil society, critics, education analysts had
suggested that international flights be banned and borders be closed
down to save all citizens from the deadly virus. With a total number of
10 confirmed cases in Cameroon then, it was high time the government
took drastic measures to stop the spread of the virus throughout the
national territory. Thirteen measures were taken by the central
government. Two of the measures fall within the scope of this survey.
The third measure prescribed by the central government read: “All
public and private schools from primary to tertiary education, including
vocational training centres and institutions of higher learning shall be
closed down” (Cameroon Radio and Television, 2020). And the
eleventh measure on its part stated: “Public administrations shall give
pride of place to digital means of communication and digital tools to
organize meetings that require more than ten participants” (CRTV,
2020).
While most private HEIs successfully developed high-tech platforms to
deliver e-learning contents during the lockdown, others had difficulties
in designing and implementing their e-learning.

1.3. Responses to support learning amid the pandemic: review

of some case nations
Scholarship on strategies put in place by the central governments across
the school system was made available through surveys and many
findings were revealed (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development, March 2020; OECD, April 2020; Amita, 2020; Kouakep,
2020; Kouakep & Mafouen, 2020).
While some HEIs relied on high-tech and latest development in e-
learning to support learners, others could only rely on simple e-
learning models. This is the case of India whereby many schools-
initiated projects to curb the learning crisis during the COVID-19. A
survey on the online feedback of HEIs students regarding their
experience about e- learning methods used by their faculty and institute
was conducted in Haryana, India (Amita, 2020). This survey revealed
that faculty has done their best in the crisis period. Online tools helped

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students in covering the major part of their syllabus despite some
difficulties. Still in India, another study reveals the participation of a
sample of 69 students in online courses. The phone was used to
support learning and many findings were recorded. The delivery of
lessons, findings reveal, was compounded by connectivity problems,
low performance phones with low-capacity storage; inability to hold
zoom classes due to low quality phones. In Mumbai, a faculty member
expressed her concern on the non-inclusiveness of the online education
medium. Though all students had sophisticated smartphones and could
access internet and other social media, “not all students are in this
situation. In dormitories, the students could access contents but once in
their homes they would not (Amita, 2020).
The importance of WhatsApp fora for learning purposes cannot be
denied (Thot, 2019). His study acknowledges that WhatsApp is so
cherished and used by most youths and some of the advantages with
this messaging app include: the possibility to easily use the “new group”
option for creating virtual classrooms, the possibility to engage in live
exchanges with actors of the educational community, the design and
sharing of audio and video lessons with a large audience, and the
distribution of students’ progress report cards to parents.
Kouakep (2020) shares his mitigated experiences as a researcher and
instructor of Mathematics in secondary and university. In addition, the
organisation of e-learning in the target institutions was not the same. In
the same direction, Kouakep & Mafouen (2020) investigate difficulties
faced by users of WhatsApp groups for pedagogic activities on one
hand. On the other hand, they look into students and teachers’ level of
satisfaction in using WhatsApp for e-learning in two subjects namely;
English for French-speaking learners and mathematics in some selected
regions of Cameroon. Findings from this study reveal that teachers are
as enthusiastic as learners and that learners on WhatsApp fora easily
communicate more than in traditional face-to-face classrooms.

Theoretical Framework

The survey falls within the framework of sociology of innovation. The

latter focuses on the analysis of users and seeks to understand the
relationship between users and technologies. The theory debunks the
claim that any technology must be considered as a black box. The
theory lays emphasis on the role that designers play during the
modelling process (Akrich, Callon, & Latour, 2006). The modelling

181
process consists in framing a problem, identifying actors involved in
the resolution of the problem, submitting the project so that
prospective participants fully get engaged (Akrich, 1987).
With regard to innovation, it is understood as a change, which aims to
improve on a situation while relying on a practice, a method or the
teaching strategy of some contents. The improvement facilitates the
attainment of new objectives that could not have been completed if the
situation had not changed. The choice of the sociology of innovation in
this study can be accounted for by the fact that the researcher has
selected e-learning as a common independent variable. The dependent
variable is categorised under effective learning. The relationship that
exists between both variables being that if well-handled during the
lockdown period, students would effectively learn and this will be
verified through their experience and their level of satisfaction.

2. Methodology

This part of the work dwells on the methodology and research design.

2.1. Data collection site

Data for this quantitative survey was collected across the Republic of
Cameroon. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the researcher used an
online survey tool to share questionnaires and gather necessary data.

2.2. Target population

The target population consisted of all students from HEIs across the
Republic of Cameroon. These students were taking programmes in
public and private institutions of higher learning which offered online
classes during the pandemic.

2.3. Sampling technique and sample population

Following the purposeful sampling technique, the sample used for the
survey consisted of 49 participants selected from public and private
HEIs located in the cities of Douala, Yaounde, Ngaoundere and
Maroua. The scope of the study was therefore restricted to medical
students and technical student teachers in Douala, students from the
Catholic University Yaounde – Nkolbisson, students from the Faculty
of Education and the Faculty of Arts, Letters and Social Sciences of the
University of Yaounde 1. Participants were also selected from the
Faculty of Science – University of Ngaoundere and the Higher Teacher

182
Training College of the University of Maroua. Primary data were
collected via an online survey.

2.4. Data collection method

The researcher used SurveyMonkey to generate a questionnaire. Once
the questionnaire was generated, the link to the questionnaire was
copied. Before the survey was open to the public, the piloting phase
was conducted with one student from each target HEI. Upon reception
of feedback from the piloting phase, data collected complied with the
content validity index. The survey form remained open to participants
from the date it was designed on June 01, 2020 to September 05, 2020.
Each participant could take the survey once. The researcher did not
allow multiple responses to be provided by same participants. The
reason being that the researcher wanted to obtain genuine data.

2.5. The online questionnaire described

The online questionnaire consisted of eight items on a single page. It
took about two minutes for each participant to complete the survey.
The questionnaire items were closed questions. The first three items
sought to know the type of internet students had at home and the
various social media and messaging applications they used to access e-
learning contents during the lockdown. As for items 4 and 5,
participants had to indicate the strategies used by their schools to
implement e-learning during the lockdown. The last three items were
concerned with challenges faced by participants, their level of
satisfaction and their suggestions to improve on the e- learning
experience they had during the lockdown. A total of 49 students from
HEIs took the survey as illustrated below.
Table 1: Distribution of participants
City Higher Education Institution Number of
Respondents
Higher Technical Teacher Training College 5
Douala (ENSET Douala)
Ecole de Formation des Personnels 10
Sanitaires de Yassa
Catholic University Nkolbisson 4
Yaounde Faculty of Education – University of 7
Yaounde 1
Faculty of Arts Letters and Social Sciences 5
– University of Yaounde 1

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 Maroua Higher Teacher Training College – 15
University of Maroua
Ngaoundere Faculty of science of the University of 3
Ngaoundere
Total 49

3. Presentation of survey results

This survey was aimed at exploring the e-learning experience of

students from some selected HEIs across the Republic of Cameroon. It
is hypothesized that participants in the survey have positive feedback as
for the organisation and delivery of e-learning contents in their
institutions. The discussion of each research question is taken in turn.

3.1. What are some of the facilities used to access e-learning

contents in the selected universities during the COVID-19
lockdown?
Data as per facilities used to access e-learning contents are presented in
the pie chart below.

broadband
4,08%6,12%
0%

dial-up

Mobile data
only
89,80%

didn't have
access to the
internet

Figure 1: Internet access among HEIs students during COVID-19

lockdown

From this figure, an overwhelming majority of survey takers used mobile data
only to access e-learning contents. Despite the fact that in the Western setting
mobile learning is accessed via Wi-Fi and broadband, in Cameroon,

184
surprisingly, most students access e-learning via mobile data. This shows that
there is still a huge gap to be filled when it comes to accessing e- learning via
Wi-Fi and broadband (Mbeudeu, 2019 a). While this group stands at 89.80%, it
sharply contrasts with the group of respondents who used the broadband to
access internet and e-learning contents. This group represents 6.12% of the
sample population. Surprisingly, the last group of students that stands at 4.08%
corresponds to participants who did not have access to the internet during the
lockdown period and thus could not effectively take part in online learning.

3.2. What are the best means for accessing e-learning contents
during the lockdown?
The figure below illustrates the best means through which respondents
accessed e-learning contents during the lockdown.
4,08%
16,33% WhatsApp

80% Facebook

Twitter

Figure 2: Channels for accessing e-learning

Respondents accessed e-learning contents via WhatsApp, Facebook and
Twitter with sharply different proportions of usage. These three channels
emerged top on the chart because they were the ones being used in the
institutions that were surveyed to the detriment of learning management
systems that are commonly used in the Western world.

As the figure shows, WhatsApp tops the list with 80% of participants
who used the channel to access online contents. Facebook with 16.33%
of the survey takers follows this trend. In addition, the table ends with
twitter that only represents 4.08% of the sample population. Apart
from these common channels, respondents also used other tools like
Zoom, Skype, Yahoo mail and Gmail to participate in e-learning during
the lockdown. Figure 3 that follows throws more light on this.

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 70.00%

60.00%

50.00%

40.00%
Figure 3: Respondents’ use of other tools to access
e-learning contents
Participants used four additional tools to access e-learning contents during the
lockdown period. These include; Gmail and Yahoo mail. Both tools top the
chart with 63.83% and 23.40%, respectively. Besides, Zoom and Skype were
fairly used by participants with percentages standing at 10.64% for the Zoom
application and as low as 2.13% for Skype. This could be accounted for
because the video applications are not easily used in Cameroon.

While in other contexts the broadband and Wi-Fi offer best internet
connection, it is not always the case for students in Cameroon. As for
Yahoo mail and Gmail, these platforms are used mostly to exchange
information among users and options that allow video calls or meetings
are not always successfully used because of poor internet connection.

3.3. What are some of the strategies that are used by HEIs to
organise e-learning during lockdown?
The researcher sought to identify the methods used by various HEIs to
organise online instructions.

WhatsApp
Zoom
26,53% Facebook
0%
Yahoomail
59,18% Gmail
0%
8,16%
2,04% 4,08%
Figure 4: HEIs strategies for organizing e- learning
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WhatsApp comes first on the list of strategies with 59.18% of institutions
preferring the messaging application for organising e-learning instruction.
Other strategies used by HEIs include Gmail, Facebook, and Zoom and these
represent 8.16%, 2.04% and 4.08%, respectively. As for Skype and Yahoo
mail, no HEIs used the messaging applications to organise e-learning during
the lockdown. The figure equally shows that 26.53% of participants indicated
other strategies that HEIs used to organise instruction amid COVID-19
lockdown period.

This percentage accounts for the strategies used by the HEIs and
includes the following applications: Telegram (3 respondents),
combining Gmail and WhatsApp (1 respondent), Moodle (1
respondent), Google classroom (1 respondent), TV (3 respondents),
combining Facebook and Zoom (1 respondent) and none of the
strategies (2 respondents).
These results have some significance considering the contextual realities
of Cameroon higher education today. The COVID-19 pandemic came
at a time when many prerequisites for an effective implementation of e-
learning were not yet completed. In this regard, many lecturers, if not
the majority in the surveyed institutions do not have a sound mastery of
online learning platforms to organise and deliver e-learning contents.
This accounts for the fact that the strategies used in most institutions
remain social network tools which are less efficient in the delivery of
online instruction. Another fact is that while the ENHE is still under
completion in all state universities, existing infrastructure to support
online learning platforms are still lacking. The avoidance of e-learning
platforms by institutions could also be accounted for by the fact that
students do access good internet connection that can support such
platforms, as they require better internet as compared to the poor
internet provided by mobile telephone operators.
From the survey results, some HEIs had preferred strategies for
organising e-learning. Figure 5 that follows gives an account of most
preferred strategies in the sample HEIs.

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 6,12% 8,16%
32,65%

42,86%
10,20%
Video
Sharing documents
Live Exchange
sending notes and discussing later
other
Figure 5: HEIs preferred strategies for organizing e- learning
Figure 5 encapsulates HEIs preferred strategies to organise online instruction
during the COVID-19 lockdown. The most popular strategy used by HEIs is
‘sending notes and discussing later’ with a percentage of 42.86%. This strategy
is followed by ‘sharing documents to students’ with a rate of 32.65%. ‘Video
teaching’ accounts for 8.16%; while ‘live exchanges’ account for 10.20% of the
strategies used by HEIs to organize e-learning. With regard to other strategies,
the following were recorded: ‘television’ (1 participant), ‘telegram and sharing
documents and discussing later’ (1 participant).

These figures have some significance regarding the overall objective of

the survey, which was to explore how e- learning was organised in some
universities during the COVID-19 lockdown period. The fact that
traditional platforms for organising instruction online are not preferred
by most institutions clearly shows that e-learning facilities in the said
institutions are still to be built and commissioned. In addition, it is a
great indicator that instructors in such universities need some basic or
further training in the domain. The training could focus on how to use
e-learning platforms to provide instruction to learners. In addition,
these statistics imply that the attitude of most lecturers in the target
institutions is not positive as concerns the organisation of instruction
on e-learning platforms as it is the case in other countries.
The organisation of online classes for HEIs students did not go
without challenges. The section that follows dwells on some difficulties
faced by participants in the study.

188
 2.5. What are some of the difficulties faced by HEIs students
in participating in e-learning and their level of satisfaction?
First, the survey sought to find some of the difficulties that prevented
students from effectively participating in online classes organized by
different HEIs. Second, the researcher wanted to find out participants’
level of satisfaction during their e-learning experience. Figure 6 below
unveils challenges faced by participants as per their access to e- learning
contents.
Figure 6 shows the difficulties faced by respondents in participating in
e-learning amid COVID-19 lockdown in some selected HEIs across
Cameroon. From the figure, poor internet accounts for 73.47% of the
challenges faced by participants. As for difficulties using some
platforms, 16.33% of survey takers indicated they found this as a
hindrance to effective participation in e-learning. With regard to
difficulties signing up/creating an account, 4.08% of respondents were
concerned. The option referred to as other accounted for 10.20% of
respondents’ answers with the following key data: ‘no access to energy’
(1 respondent), ‘momentary interruption of internet’ (1 respondent),
and ‘blackouts’ (1 respondent)

4,08% 6,12%
16,33%

73,47%
Poor Internet connection
difficulties using some platforms
Difficulties signing up/creating an account

Figure 6: Students’ challenges in participating in e- learning

Challenges that hindered students’ access to e-learning contents may be
accounted for by some external factors that do not depend on them. In fact,
the numerous electricity black outs and poor internet remain some of the main
factors that affect learners. On top of this, there are other factors like students’
inability to use some of the e-learning platforms effectively. In the meantime,
other students are not able to log on later after the beginning of classes.

189
 2.6. What was the level of students’ satisfaction after studying
online during the COVID-19 lockdown?
The results that are presented below reveal the level of satisfaction of
participants into the survey.

10,20% 6,12%

36,73%

46,94%
Completely satisfied
Satisfied
Not satisfied

Figure 7: Students’ level of satisfaction on e- learning

As can be seen on figure 7 above, 36.73% were satisfied with the e-learning
experience they had during the lockdown. As for students who were
completely satisfied, we had as low as 6.12% of respondents. Surprisingly, the
majority of respondents were not satisfied with the e-learning experience they
had. The percentage for this category of respondents stands at 46.94%. The
last group of respondents fell under the variable ‘a bit satisfied’ (3
respondents), and ‘difficulty to access university website’ (1 respondent). After
presenting participants’ level of satisfaction, the part that follows dwells on
some insights into suggestions to see an improvement in e- learning in HEIs
across Cameroon.

2.7. What suggestions for improving e-learning initiatives in

HEIs
The fifth research objective was to gather some suggestions for
improving the e-learning experience of students amid any health
pandemic in the future, which could be similar to COVID-19 and
which could compel authorities to instruct the closing of schools and
embark on e-learning. Figure 9 that follows reveals results on some of
the key suggestions gathered from participants.

190
 2,04%

36,73%

51,02%

10,20%
Combine on-site learning and online learning
Design and teach some courses online exclusively
Design and teach a course that will prepare students to effectively participate in online courses
other

Figure 8: Suggestions for improving e- learning in HEIs

Figure 8 brings forth some suggestions presented by respondents in view of
improving e-learning in HEIs. The table actually shows that the majority of
students are in favour of an inclusive approach to e-learning. In this direction,
as high as 51.02% of respondents suggest the design and teaching of a course
that prepares students in HEIs to effectively participate in e-learning
initiatives. Another group of respondents supports the combination of on-site
learning and online learning. This group accounts for 36.73% of participants.
Interestingly, a group of respondents recommend to design and teach some
courses online exclusively. The last group that gave some open suggestions
recommends the improvement of internet access. This last group accounts for
2.04% of respondents.

3. Discussion of survey results and implications

The main objective of this survey was to explore the e-learning

experience of HEIs students during the COVID-19 lockdown in
Cameroon. Specifically, the survey focused on the understanding of
how HEIs and students coped with e-learning during the COVID-19
pandemic lockdown period. Firstly, most respondents access e-learning
via their mobile phone using mobile data. Secondly, WhatsApp
messaging application remains by far the common channel used by
most HEIs to organise e-learning during the lockdown. Thirdly,

191
dedicated platforms and meeting applications that are used to organise
e-learning in the Western world are seldom used within the
Cameroonian higher education context. Fourth, students’ level of
satisfaction as per their experience is mitigated and finally participants
recommend that prior to e-learning initiatives, HEIs should prepare
students to effectively participate in e-learning initiatives.
To begin with, participants used various means to access the internet as
well as e-learning contents during the lockdown. This is testimony that
internet is well accessible within higher education in Cameroon. The
fact that the majority of participants – 89.80% - accessed the internet
using their smartphones is a strong indicator that mobile data is the
most convenient option for students. This corroborates the study
carried out in the Indian setting whereby students’ most preferred
internet access was mobile data during the COVID-19 lockdown to
participate in online instruction organised by their universities (Amita,
2020). As concerns internet access via broadband, the rate is still very
low despite the availability of network in the major towns and cities of
the country. This implies that during the COVID-19 lockdown,
students had enough mobile data to participate in e-learning and
continuing the learning process without any interruption (OECD, 2020;
Kouakep, 2020).
With regard to the best channels through which higher education
students accessed e-learning contents during lockdown remains the
WhatsApp messaging application. This finding complements the results
reported in another study whereby this messaging application remains
by far the most accessible among youths in the world today and has so
many advantages for the effective implementation of e-learning (Thot,
2019). This is partly because WhatsApp messaging application is easily
compatible with Smartphones and most participants used mobile data
during the lockdown period. The fact that WhatsApp is used in
profusion is indicating that it is the option made available by HEIs
across Cameroon to facilitate e-learning. This highly contrasts with
what obtains in other settings whereby WhatsApp is not among the
best strategies to support e-learning. This further corroborates Thot’s
insightful contribution that pertinently shows the importance of
WhatsApp in e-learning initiatives that involve youths. While online
platforms like Zoom, Skype, Google classrooms and Moodle are used
to support e-learning initiative across the world, it is not the case with
Cameroon HEIs that were concerned with this survey. This fact
contradicts the results reported in India whereby so many institutions

192
have been using latest innovations for the implementation of e-learning
initiatives (Amita, 2020). This implies that actors in higher education
need some training on how to use the aforementioned tools to develop
e-learning and organise e-learning instruction. The fact that participants
used WhatsApp messaging application to access e-learning during the
lockdown shows the importance of this tool among students and
teachers across the levels of education. A similar case featured in a
study carried out in Cameroon during the same period and which
showed how teachers of mathematics and English used WhatsApp to
organise instruction during the lockdown (Kouakep & Mafouen, 2020).
While the results of the study were concerned with secondary
education, the current study focuses on higher education institutions.
This further implies that e-learning is organised according to available
means, which are easily accessible to students and instructors across the
school system. This follows the theory of acceptance model (TAM)
designed by Davis in the 80s. The theory emphasizes the importance of
being at the same wavelength with all actors when it comes to
introducing an ICT tool in a system to change the traditional standards.
In an attempt to complement the tools discussed above, participants
made use of messaging applications such as Gmail, Yahoo, Skype, and
Zoom to access e-learning contents provided by their universities. A
close look at the percentages for each application has many
implications on the effective use of e-learning in Cameroon HEIs. The
fact that 63% of respondents could access e-learning materials via
Gmail and 23.40% via Yahoo mail indicates that the option chosen by
different universities was a one-way traffic kind of delivering e-learning
during the lockdown. The effective delivery of e-learning in situations
whereby actors cannot meet due to a health issue must be highly
interactive and offer many live exchanges whereby instructors and
learners can actually reap the benefits of virtual classrooms and act as
though they were in real on-site classroom situations. In the case of our
institutions, most lecturers sent notes and assignments and did not
come back to conclude the learning process with the feedback got from
students. This situation sharply contrasts with the use of dedicated
applications for e-learning such as Zoom and Skype, which were not
among the best tools used to access e-learning contents. It is common
knowledge that these applications are mostly used on personal
computers and tablets, but participants mostly accessed the internet via
mobile data during the lockdown. One might have expected HEIs
students to use their laptops to access e- learning contents during the

193
lockdown, but unfortunately, it was not the case. This brings to the
limelight the ENHE project whose first phase has been completed
according to a recent outing of the Minister of Higher Education on
the national media. According to him the distribution of laptops to
students before the lockdown was a real boost for students to be online
during the lockdown and participate in learning. This declaration
remains questionable, as many education critics and researchers on
higher education have been pointing out that the quality of laptops
provided by the Ministry of Higher Education to students was too low
and could not stand the test of time. Most of the laptops are broken
and that could be the reason why most participants in the survey used
their mobile phones to participate in e- learning during the lockdown.
The fact that Zoom and Skype were seldom used to organize
instruction also implies that the mastery of these tools by most higher
education lecturers remains a call for concern that needs thorough
investigation in order to see their level of mastery of such tools.
Within the context of strategies used by HEIs to organize e-learning
during lockdown, WhatsApp messaging application tops the chart with
59.18%. This shows that the concerned HEIs might not have paid
enough attention to the right strategies when it comes to organizing e-
learning initiatives for their learners. This further shows how the use of
the right strategy by actors to provide effective e- learning to students
still has a long way to go in the said HEIs. In fact, while traditional e-
learning platforms are used to organize instruction in the Western
world the same does not hold true in Cameroon where most actors
heavily rely on messaging applications that are not always suitable to
organize online instruction in an effective way. In a recent study
carried out to explore how e- learning was organized across the world
during the lockdown, findings revealed that most countries would use
e-learning platforms (OECD, 2020). The results of the present study do
not corroborate these findings as instruction remains heavily organized
on messaging applications in Cameroon. This notwithstanding some
chosen few lecturers are doing things differently and have come up
with the combination of strategies in order to guarantee the quality of
e- learning delivered to their learners. Strategies like telegram,
combination of Gmail and WhatsApp, Moodle, TV and Google
classroom are in profuse use. These preferred strategies testify that
although some universities are lagging behind, others are trying hard to
provide quality e- learning to their learners with the right strategy like
those recommended in countries whereby educational technology has

194
covered a good path so far with palpable results. This implies that
educational technologies are not well mastered by lecturers in some
Cameroon HEIs. There is a need to school lecturers on how to
effectively use educational technology to design and share contents
online. In this direction, the Ministry of Higher Education must fasten
the ENHE project and put in place a team of trainers who will design
and provide training on the use of different strategies to enhance e-
learning during periods similar to the lockdown.
The fact that the preferred strategy was sharing documents or materials
further buttresses the point that e- learning is perceived as a one-way
process whereby the lecturers share any relevant materials but do not
come back for feedback to check if learning has taken place. A different
option or strategy that was also preferred was sending notes and
discussing them later. This once more falls within the traditional
distance learning whereby there is no live exchange among all
participants on the same platform. Live exchanges, which only account
for 10.20%, show that the effectiveness of e-learning is jeopardized
under such conditions. The foregoing undeniably brings forth the
challenges that marred the organization of e- learning during the
lockdown.
The mostly decried difficulty that came up was poor internet
connection with 73.47% of participants indicating how difficult it was
to connect to the internet. It is a proof that internet access may be
effective in cities but the quality remains poor. The implication is that
in such conditions, it is hard to participate in online activities. Another
fact is the difficulty to use some platforms to access e- learning. This
shows that students are not prepared to use different e- learning
strategies offered by their institutions and thus there is a need to
accompany learners prior to such endeavours. This could be done by
schooling them on key aspects of e- learning or designing some courses
on educational technology. With regard to schools, which used Moodle
and other virtual classrooms, it remained challenging to create an
account because of poor internet connection and poor servers, which
did not always manage the flow of data being sent in by users. The
quality of infrastructure must be reinforced to see e- learning become
more effective in the future.
The above discussion shows that during the lockdown period, HEIs in
Cameroon organized instruction on different messaging applications
successfully despite the fact that traditional e-learning platforms that are
used in Western settings were not used profusely. Indeed, students

195
remained in contact with their lecturers during the lockdown period
and could access pedagogic contents from their homes. While some
institutions made use of innovative approaches in delivering e-learning
contents to their students, others relied on simple strategies that do not
comply with the latest requirements in the domain. There were many
difficulties on students’ side to access e- learning and effectively
participate in learning during the lockdown. The difficulties that came
because of poor internet connection and electricity blackouts hindered
the e-learning process during the lockdown period. It is in this regard
that most of the suggestions proposed by participants are geared
towards reinforcing the capacity of learners to effectively use e- learning
not forgetting the strengthening of infrastructure. The main implication
could be that HEIs and their students are not yet ready to embark on e-
learning. The fact is that most of the HEIs that were surveyed did not
fully embrace and make good use of the potentials offered by e-learning
in an environment characterized by COVID-19 lockdown. This falls in
line with the argument that holds that ICT is taught in Africa as a mere
subject rather than being conceived as a tool that can be used to
improve on the practice (Karsenti, 2009). In the same vein, the role of
some ICTs is merely seen in completing basic tasks but hardly visible
when it comes to implementing innovative ways of teaching (Béché,
2012). The current study corroborates this as it has been reported that
many instructors could not use dedicated e-learning platforms because
they lacked the necessary skills and could only use ICT for performing
basic tasks. The fact that many participants want to see their ICT
competences boosted implies that HEIs must take the responsibility to
train their students so that they can take up challenges in the domain of
e- learning. This corroborates the recommendations of another scholar
whose cry is to see the competences of students significantly improved
and in so doing equip them with multidisciplinary talents (Fonkoua,
2006).

Conclusion

The objective of this study was to explore the e-learning experience of

students from some HEIs across the Republic of Cameroon. Results of
this study indicate that during the lockdown period in HEIs across
Cameroon, e-learning was successfully carried out with varying degrees
of satisfaction and with a host of difficulties encountered by students to
access materials and effectively take part in the learning process. In

196
addition, while most HEIs relied on simple strategies to organize e-
learning instruction, others could explore the potentials offered by the
best tools used in the Western world to maintain students in the
learning situation. Some of the interesting findings are worth recalling
here.
First, most students during the COVID-19 lockdown had internet
access only through their Smartphones and the mostly accessible media
were WhatsApp, Facebook, Gmail and Yahoo mail. Second, WhatsApp
was by far the tool mostly used for e-learning. Third, most schools
instead of using e-learning platforms and interactive messaging
applications such as Zoom, Skype, Google classroom heavily relied on
the sharing/sending of documents on WhatsApp groups. Fourth, the
difficulty that prevented most students from effectively taking part in
the e-learning process was poor internet and electricity blackouts. The
latter led to a fair level of satisfaction on students’ side as per their e-
learning experience. Fifth, following the list of suggestions presented to
respondents they were all unanimous that for a better organisation of e-
learning opportunities in the future, HEIs must design and teach a
course that can equip students with e-learning competences.
The foregoing account makes this study acquire more significance as
per the understanding of challenges faced not only by students during
the pandemic period but also by lecturers. While lecturers were not able
to design and deliver instruction following the Western model, students
on their part had difficulties accessing online contents because of poor
internet connection and old devices. During the pandemic, teachers and
students discovered the true potentials behind WhatsApp tool and how
it could be tamed for educational purposes during health crises.
The researcher recommends that lecturers take continuous training on
how to design and deliver instruction on dedicated online platforms.
Besides, the E-National Higher Education (ENHE) project in the 10
state universities should be accelerated. Universities should reward
lecturers who successfully teach their courses on e-learning platforms.
This work has contributed in a better understanding of the state-of-the
art of e-learning in most of the surveyed institutions. There are good
reasons to look into the national strategy of e-learning for higher
education. As for suggestions for further research, other studies could
be carried out on the same topic but with a larger sample. This will help
have a bigger picture of what obtains in all Cameroon universities.
Some research is worth carrying out on the comparison of e-learning
modelling in private and public HEIs in Cameroon. All these will

197
significantly contribute in elaborating e-learning strategies that fully
comply with the standards in the Western world and chiefly contribute
in quality assurance of Cameroon higher education e-learning system,
which is still in the making.

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