USL students to access internet cheaper than usual

Students of the University of Sierra Leone will start to access their web portals for less due to coronavirus. The University of Sierra Leone has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Africell S/L to provide zero-rating internet services to the USL web portal mobile application for students of the University. 

The signing took place at the University House AJ Momoh Street in Freetown. This was according to a Facebook post from Africell S/L official Facebook page yesterday 30 March 2020.

Africell in their post stated that their long-standing relationship with the University was further strengthened by the signing of the MOU and said they as a company support education.

“Africell is always in support of education in Sierra Leone & beyond.”

This new signed MoU will eliminate the need for payment of mobile data tariffs to access the University’s web portal, provide special data bundle rates that are to be agreed upon by the University that will give access to web URLs established solely for the delivery of digital lectures by lecturers of the University.

It will further ensure digital economic inclusion by activating mobile money accounts on all Sim Cards provided through a framework that enables students to pay their fees and the Administration to make mobile-based disbursements for low-value expenses, and provide a toll-free short code of 5505 for The University Complaints Commission in the Academic & Career Advisory and Counselling Service Centre.

Professor Foday Sahr Vice-Chancellor of the University expressed appreciation for the initiative and made it clear that the MOU was very timely more especially now that the university was moving smoothly towards the digital age.

The University of Sierra Leone consists of Fourah Bay College, IPAM and College of Medicine. It announced last week that it will start online lectures due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.