The National Institute of Public Administration (NIPA) has rolled out a COVID-19 stimulus response short course in e-teaching methodology to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on higher education.
NIPA executive director, Ambassador Professor Royson Mukwena revealed this during a five-day training workshop of academic staff at held NIPA Ndola campus. The training ran from 25th to 29th January 2021.
Speaking during the opening of the training, Prof Mukwena said he was proud to note that the NIPA is taking the lead in this initiative by fulfilling the Zambia Qualifications Authority’s requirement to upskill all academic staff without an education background in teaching methodologies.
Amb. Prof Mukwena said: “The COVID-19 Pandemic has shifted the mode of delivering higher Education services to electronic; this is why, academic staff need not just a qualification in teaching methodologies, but one which is learner centric and encompasses the e-teaching methods and techniques.”
Prof. Mukwena said the initiative is not only meant to benefit the higher education sector as it can be customised to suit any organisation’s e-teaching requirements.
The executive director was proud to mention that so far, reputable organisations including the Zambia Army, Zambia Airforce and the Zambia National Service had benefited from this five- day long high impact e-teaching methodology course.
He disclosed that the Institute had received numerous of requests from various organisations to have their staff trained in Teaching Methodologies in the era of COVID19. Some of the organisations that have approached NIPA include; Occupational Health and Safety Institute, the correctional services, churches, non-profit organisations and many other service providers.
Participants part away with a certificate of attendance indicating their acquired skills and abilities to engage with and critique advanced thinking in e-teaching and e-learning.
