Abstract:

The papers' main goal is to present first-year university students' e-learning experiences. Due to the disruption of face-to-face teaching caused by COVID-19, several higher education institutions have turned to e-learning to salvage the academic year. The educational institutions were not ready to embrace e-learning. Over the years, they had become accustomed to face-to-face instruction and had never prepared for a rapid COVID-19 epidemic that resulted in a large lockdown. Despite the widespread use of e-learning, there is increasing evidence that learning did not occur as planned. With the new style of delivery, the students faced obstacles. The participants were 12 first-year students who were required to participate in e-learning throughout the 2020 academic year. They respondent to a semi-structured interview questions aimed at better understanding the issues that both rural and urban students confront. Access, latest technology, cost, and the lecturer reluctant to adopt the new technology, were all identified as themes in the investigation. Students have lost faith in the system and their lecturers because of their experiences. The findings revealed that e-learning failed in providing effective teaching. For students from historically disadvantaged communities in South Africa, face-to-face iteaching is still required. In conclusion e-learning will only succeed in urban in South Africa where even free data is available for every household.

Keywords:

e-learning, COVID-19, accessibility, cost, new technology.