Drivers Affecting the Acceptance and Use of Electronic Learning Among Ugandan University Students in the COVID-19 Era. A Cross-Sectional Survey Among Three Universities

BACKGROUND.COVID-19 is an emerging and a highly infectious disease that is becoming a global health challenge affecting all sectors. With an aim of preventing COVID-19 transmission, all education institutions were closed and advised to turn to online learning. The present study sought to determine the factors affecting the acceptance and use of electronic learning among Ugandan University students in three universities.METHODSThe study relied on two data collection instruments: questionnaire and semi-structured interview. An online cross-sectional survey was conducted on a population of students in three pre-selected universities: Kyambogo, Makerere and Kampala International University. The students aged 18 and above constituted the study. The online questionnaire was sent to participants through WhatsApp Messenger and E-mails and a total of 614 questionnaires were returned. 15 participants were involved in the semi-structured interview. All analyses were performed using STATA 15.1 and Microsoft office Excel 2016.RESULTS. Of the 614 questionnaires returned, 578 were valid. Majority of the respondents were males (n = 378, n = 65.4%). 60.7% were from Makerere University and majority being in their third year of study (n = 283, n = 49.0%). Overall, 69.2% (n = 400) had good knowledge, 22.5% (n = 130) had good/positive attitudes toward e-learning. Factors associated with knowledge were place of residence (p = 0.023) and gender (p = 0.025). Factors associated with attitudes were age (p = 0.021) and place of residence (p = 0.000). The semi-structured interviews revealed connectivity and skills challenges as the main barriers for implementation of e-learning.CONCLUSIONFor better implementation of e-learning by Universities, effective planning needs to be done with active students’ involvement to avert the negative attitudes. We recommend more studies be done on the Universities’ preparedness for implementation of e-learning.