The Growing of Online Education in Sub Saharan Africa: Case Study Ghana

Abstract

Other names of online education are e-learning, cyber schools or distance learning, which are distinct from face to face traditional education because students do not need to visit an actual classroom and listen to an instructor talking to them. Online education is a classroom on the internet that engages and assists students to study in their own free time. It is self-directed learning. The internet has become a major educational technological advancement tool in society and the universities in Ghana, such as the University of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and Cape Coast University, took advantage of it by offering courses online to target the working class in Ghana. However, the rate of online education in these universities is still very low according to the questionnaire results of the study. Most of the students still prefer face to face classroom teaching to the cyber schools. They have a negative perception about online education, but the use of the internet frequently can lead to changes in views. Online education has a big advantage that the students do not need to resign from their jobs to take courses in the university; they do not need to look for babysitters to look after their children so they can go for classes. Online education has brought easy ways to study and to get a degree to the doorsteps of the working classes and students alike in Ghana through the higher educational institution.