Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Curriculum Implementation in Secondary Schools in Ugheli South Local Government Area of Delta State

Abstract

The study evaluates COVID-19 pandemic as it affects implementation of curriculum in secondary schools in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State. Expo-facto design was adopted. The study enrolled 50 teachers and 230 students using simple random sampling techniques. Two research questions were raised and two hypotheses formulated for the study. A 20-item questionnaire designed with 4-point Likert response type was validated with reliability index of 0.82 established using Cronbach Alpha, and adopted for data collection. Data analysis was carried out using t-test at 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that the pandemic caused by COVID-19 had great impact on curriculum implementation in both rural and urban areas with challenges encountered by students and teachers which necessitated online teaching. The study also found that most students could not access online classes due to limited internet access and poor technical knowhow of technological devices. It was therefore recommended that government and educational stakeholders should evolve strategies to cushion the effects of the pandemic towards effective curriculum implementation and that educators, teachers and students be introduced and trained on how to handle and use online educational devices effectively for effective teaching and learning. Also, that government should subsidize the financial cost of purchasing online teaching gadgets.