The COVID-19 pandemic has had serious ramifications on education around the globe. It has put pressure on higher education institutions, just like all other education institutions, to look for alternatives to face-to-face teaching and learning. In order not to derail academic endeavours, higher education institutions have adopted online teaching. The purpose of this study was to understand students’ perceptions about using online platforms for teaching and learning. To address this problem adequately, three research questions were explored, namely (i) What is the role of teaching and learning in higher education? (ii) How does the online teaching and learning environment present challenges to students’ learning experience? (iii) Why are online platforms beneficial to teaching and learning? The Study used a qualitative approach with a case study of a higher education institution. A sample of 20 out of 80 students from the same class was purposely selected. Whilst the results of the study show that using online platforms for teaching and learning enhances education, there is also evidence that online platforms for teaching come with some inherent challenges. If not handled properly, these challenges can derail the objective of education. Findings from the study also indicate that most students struggle to use online platforms. Therefore, the study recommends that adequate training and support be given to students and instructors to ease the use of online platforms for effective teaching and learning. Keywords: Students; Instructors; Online platform; Elearning; Teaching and learning; Education

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