During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, educational
institutions adopted emergency remote teaching (ERT) practices. In ERT,
courses are taught online by teachers who have experience with face-to-face
classroom instruction. Students and teaching staff were concerned about the
sudden change to ERT and learning practices. Higher education institutions
(HEIs) need to understand students' perceptions of ERT in order to prepare
appropriate strategies for online teaching and learning. This study is
intended: i) to analyze the students' perception of ERT and ii) to explore the
factors that determine the effectiveness of ERT during pandemic periods.
The researchers used an online survey method to collect the primary data by
employing a structured questionnaire. They employed the purposive
sampling technique for this study. The results of the study highlight the fact
that students prefer to take advantage of the available learning opportunities
during the pandemic period. This is because they can earn their academic
qualifications on time. It is also evident that the sudden transition to online
teaching did compromise the efficacy of academic delivery to a certain
extent. The study also found that motivation and assessment were crucial
factors in determining the effectiveness of ERT during the pandemic period.