Challenges Faced by Students During the Covid-19 Lockdown: Rethinking the Governance of Higher Education in Cameroon

Change which is inevitable due to the changing needs of individuals and the society usually comes with some challenges. Knowledge and understanding of these challenges are relevant for effective implementation and efficient outcome. This study examined the extent to which challenges faced by students during the lockdown period will inform policy makers on restructuring the governance of higher education in Cameroon. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey research design of quantitative approach. Questionnaire was used to collect data from 1029 postgraduate students. The statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 23.0, frequency counts and percentage were used to analyse the closed-ended questions while the thematic approach was used to analyse the open-ended questions. The Spearman’s rho test which is a non-parametric test was used to test the hypothesis. Results revealed that lockdown period significantly affected students’ learning in higher education institutions in Cameroon and this effect was very strong justified with an R-square value of 0.826, P = 0.000, far < 0.05 and a high Chi-Square value of 964.612 at a degree of freedom of 81. This effect is related to the challenges faced with respect to knowledge and skills in online learning, access to online resources and management of online studies.