COVID-19: Exposing unmatched historical disparities in the South African institutions of higher learning

Abstract

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has been on the rampage and severely affected lives of many globally. The disruption resulting from the pandemic cuts across various aspects of the society such as the economic, social, environmental and educational domains. This article specifically explores the impact of COVID-19 on the higher education system in South Africa and also delves into academic challenges experienced by students during the pandemic. The article explores students’ experiences during the pandemic in conjunction with challenges which existed in the higher education system before the advent of COVID-19 owing to the legacy of apartheid, transformational and other developmental issues in the South African context.

Remote Teaching and Learning at a South African University During Covid-19 Lockdown: Moments of Resilience, Agency and Resignation in First-Year Students’ Online Discussions

“…Covid-19 has produced a new body of knowledge in South African higher education about emergency online teaching and learning during a pandemic. The large range of articles published during the national lockdown in South Africa focused on different topical issues, such as the relationship between the fourth industrial revolution (4IR), the challenges and opportunities of emergency remote teaching and social inequalities in South African higher education during and after Covid-19 (Alex, 2022;Mhbiza, 2022;Mtshweni, 2022). These studies sought to make sense of how the pandemic has shaped social and academic lives, while inadvertently exposing the deepening social inequalities in South African universities and communities (Czerniewicz et al, 2020;Hedding et al, 2020;Marongwe & Garidzirai, 2022;Motala & Menon, 2020;Mtshweni, 2022).…”

“…The large range of articles published during the national lockdown in South Africa focused on different topical issues, such as the relationship between the fourth industrial revolution (4IR), the challenges and opportunities of emergency remote teaching and social inequalities in South African higher education during and after Covid-19 (Alex, 2022;Mhbiza, 2022;Mtshweni, 2022). These studies sought to make sense of how the pandemic has shaped social and academic lives, while inadvertently exposing the deepening social inequalities in South African universities and communities (Czerniewicz et al, 2020;Hedding et al, 2020;Marongwe & Garidzirai, 2022;Motala & Menon, 2020;Mtshweni, 2022). Recurring references in these studies to the "new normal" suggest that the world will never be the same again, and predict that modes of teaching and research in the higher education landscape will change drastically after the pandemic.…”

“…This meant students and staff had to experiment with different technologies to teach, and universities chopped and changed strategies, requirements and expectations on the fly as more research evidence about the mutations of the virus and the likelihood of an extended international crisis became available (Adedoyin & Soykan, 2020;Czerniewics et al, 2020;Mhlanga & Moloi, 2020). At some universities, especially those in the rural parts of South Africa, remote teaching and learning challenges were exacerbated by inadequate resources and lack of staff with the right skillsets (Alex, 2022; Marongwe & Garidzirai, 2021;Mtshweni, 2022).…”

“…The severity of the Covid-19-related teaching and learning challenges varied from university to university, with the most severely affected students based at the historically disadvantaged universities and in vulnerable communities (Le Grange, 2020b;Marongwe & Garidzirai, 2021;Mbhiza, 2021). Because these universities were under-resourced to begin with, staff and students encountered more technological and infrastructural challenges when the higher education sector was unexpectedly forced to resort to remote teaching and learning by the pandemic (Alex, 2022;Mtshweni, 2022;Odularu et al, 2022).…”

“…Consequently, many scholarly publications that emanated from these conversations neglected the voices of students, as they focused on how universities tried to navigate the Covid-19-induced emergency online teaching and learning landscape. They also tended to focus primarily on the negative effects of Covid-19, often ignoring students' ability to be resilient and the ways in which they exercised a sense of agency during this life-threatening crisis (see Gumede & Badriparsad, 2021;Madiope & Mendy, 2021;Mtshweni, 2022).…”