Development of an E-Learning Platform with Offline Capability for ESUT Engineering Students

Inconsistent internet connectivity on Nigerian university campuses significantly limits the effectiveness of purely online educational platforms. This study develops an e-learning platform with offline capability designed to support engineering students at Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT). The platform allows course content, including lecture videos, PDFs, and quizzes, to be downloaded during periods of connectivity and accessed offline via a progressive web application (PWA) framework. The development methodology followed Agile principles, with two-week sprints covering content architecture, PWA service worker implementation, and user interface design. The frontend was built using React.js, while the backend used Django REST Framework with PostgreSQL. Content synchronization was managed through background sync and IndexedDB storage on the client side. System evaluation was conducted with 60 second-year and third-year engineering students over six weeks. Results show that 87 percent of users successfully accessed downloaded content during connectivity outages, and quiz completion rates improved by 34 percent compared to the baseline online-only platform. Average page load time in offline mode was under 1.5 seconds. The study concludes that PWA-based offline e-learning platforms address a critical infrastructure gap in Nigerian higher education. Recommendations include integration with ESUT's central LMS and expansion to include collaborative offline forums.