Data problems: Why are there hold-ups?

Some students from the North-West University (NWU) who study remotely due to COVID-19 have been asking questions on social media platforms such as Facebook since the start of the semester about delays in the NWU’s monthly provisioning of data to about 27 503 students.

According to the NWU there are many possible causes for delays that range from students changing their numbers without notifying the university, phones that are blocked podue to circumstances beyond the university’s control, students returning to campus which means they are not longer eligible to receive further data bundles, or data providers delaying provision, which the NWU does not have control over. 

Etienne Mostert, director of purchase and payments at the NWU, said students should keep in mind that data provided by the NWU is for learning purposes only.

Some students use the data personal reasons (Instagram, YouTube, Twitter) which may cause the depletion of the data bundle, which is only for 30 days, before the next month’s upload.

The office of Professor Robert Balfour, the deputy vice-chancellor for teaching and learning, also provided more clarity saying if there is a problem, students will not receive a double allocation for a particular month.

He added that the NWU’s helplines have not been inundated with queries, but whenever a query is received through the helpline, student leaders or are channels, it gets addressed as quickly as possible on its own merit and this continually improves the process. 

According to Mostert it is also important for students to note that weekly provisioning requests happens every Tuesday and the student will from then receive data monthly based on the specific provision list. .”.

Kabelo Maruma, the deputy chairperson of the Progressive Student Organisation, stated that one of the reasons for the data delays is that there are students who t exploit the school system as they live on campus but still require data.

This causes the delay in data because the management needs to re-check the list to be sure those students that moved to campus are not eligible for data. Campus residences are more than 50% full, which means that these students are not eligible to receive data since they have access to NWU Wi-Fi.

Maruma said the organisation that he is part of is involved in fighting against inconsistent provisioning and they always ask the Students Council Campus to follow-up if there are problems. He said it was important for students to receive timeous feedback on queries. 

Omphile Raleni, a second-year education student, stated that timely data delivery is critical for students. “The data delays during remote learning had a negative influence on me. I missed lessons and did not complete assignments and quizzes.” 

Raleni said his grades saw a decline and it became tough to participate in online activities while coping with the data delay problem.

“My academic performance has shifted. There were tests I needed to take, but due to the data delay, I couldn’t access my study materials or prepare for them. I was also unable to access eFundi.”

He continued to say that he had to ask for money from his parents merely to finish some of his examinations and homework. “Data is costly, and delays cause us to fall behind,” he said 

“The only recommendation I have is that we return to contact classes. With online learning, a lot of students are struggling,” Raleni added.

On 25 October, Professor Dan Kgwadi, the vice-chancellor, said in a message to the university community that based on a senate decision, which is the university’s highest decision-making body on academic matters, “students (also our prospective first-year students) and their parents that for 2022, all students will be required to return to campuses.” – Tsholofelo Dingopo, Innocentia Motshoari, Steve Maphakathe, Wayden Michaels