AS a result of the proclamation of the State of Emergency to curb the spread of the coronavirus the Institute for Open Learning (IOL) has had to introduce extraordinary measures like rescheduling examinations to accommodate enrolled students who find themselves in extraordinary circumstances as a result of the lockdown to complete their studies.
In a statement IOL said that following the Ministry of Health’s lockdown guidelines regarding the coronavirus, more specifically the restrictions on public gatherings and social distancing, the current global pandemic has necessitated the cancellation of IOL gatherings. The institution is cognizant that the suspension of the April/May examinations will cause interruption in the completion of students’ studies and may have greater detrimental effects that can lead to a stagnation of studies for many country-wide.
IOL is a distance education institution and therefore functions differently from full time institutions. It is the institutions obligation to protect the interest of all its students, with most IOL students being working adults (more specifically, teachers). Hence the reason that IOL have to schedule examinations during the school holidays and not during the school term. Teachers have already missed a lot of teaching time and learners will require much more assistance after the lockdown.
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IOL also has a large number of students in remote rural areas that are part of our “Education for All” policy and the concern of no internet access has been raised on numerous occasions.
Further to the above, the institution has put the following measures in place to assists the students to continue with their studies as planned.
1. June 2020 assignment submission: All students will be allowed to submit as many assignments as they wish, on condition that they are registered with the institution for the academic year. This is a once off opportunity and will only be valid for this assignment submission period.
2. Examinations: The November examination, which was scheduled to be a supplementary examination, will be a full examination thus awarding students two examination seating opportunities for the academic year. Supplementary examinations will then subsequently form part of the April 2021 examination.
IOL remains in contact with the students and regulators and will communicate further adjustments that might transpire due to measures implemented by the Government of Namibia.
The institute urged students to remain calm, safe and informed during this difficult time.
“Take care of yourself and your families. Remember to wash your hands and stay indoors,” the institute advised.