A Strategic Approach to Onsite Learning in the Era of SARS-Cov-2

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted all forms of social life, including the education sector. As part of the efforts to keep the virus at bay, onsite instruction was suspended in 188 countries across the globe, jeopardizing the educational goals of over 91% of the world's student population. Online learning emerged as an ultimate solution to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The main challenge of most developing countries, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, is to ensure effective online learning across all levels of education. The lack of funds, infrastructure, effective e-learning systems, ICT gadgets, and other challenges hindered the online learning in most developing countries from achieving its intended goal. With the realization that the COVID-19 may not die out soon and the prospect of a vaccine, Ghana, like many countries, resumed onsite instruction in early 2021. The study employed a phenomenological approach through personal interviews to explore the experiences of 20 tertiary students who were the first batch of students to be part of the temporal resumption of tertiary education in Ghana. From the analysis, it was observed that universities educated their staff and students on COVID-19. Nonetheless, there were contextual challenges with; the provision of personal protective equipment (PPEs), engagement in digital learning, parent-teacher collaboration, psychological health service, and course completion. The study discusses school preparedness plan of universities for resumption and draws from the literature to outline ten strategic ways to reopen schools.