Higher education under threat: China, Malaysia, and the UK respond to the COVID-19 pandemic

The Pandemic and Higher Education: Learning and Reflection from the Experience of Chinese Higher Education

“…We discuss and reflect on the implied priority of 'crisis management' which enable stability to overtook pedagogical issues to be treated as the primary focus of higher education in China, creating a dynamic scenario whereby continuance of operation or a sense of normality has been sought under difficult circumstances. In support of Ma et al (2021), we concur that 'rapid pragmatic change and stringent policy implementation through localised responsibility have been key in Chinese HE(higher education)'s dealing with the pandemic, anchoring on top-down authority, urgency of collective crisis, and categorical patriotism. Underpinning the central policy's complete authority, such anchors carry legal power, social control, and political sensitivity' (also see Davidson, 2020;Huang, 2020).…”

“…It reveals the potent role of government and its central authority in Chinese (higher) education (Bray, 1999), which validates the university' practices despite a messy reality. In particular, this paper extends and provides further contexts to Ma et al (2021) in better understanding their Chinese perspective, giving readers a fuller picture of the governance of Chinese higher education and some of its practical insights. It also provides some important lessons and reflections drawing from localised experiences,…”

“…The Ministry, in a letter unambiguously addressed to 'nation-wide university students' that was issued on February 3 rd sustained that 'the outbreak is the order, and prevention control is the responsibility', written verbatim. The Ministry 'believes… (university students) certainly will uphold the mission and responsibility of the time, share the motherland's fate and people's trials and tribulations, and make the due contribution to winning the battle with the new coronavirus' (translated and cited in Ma et al, 2021).…”

“…The higher education sector in China has withstood the challenges of the pandemic. Ma and colleagues (Ma et al, 2021) have recently discussed some of these challenges, comparing and contrasting among the different national contexts of China, Malaysia and the UK. This paper presents a narrative of Chinese higher education managing some of the multifaceted challenges, which is pivotal to understanding its policies and practices during the pandemic.…”

The mobility paradigm in higher education: a phenomenological study on the shift in learning space

“…As the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown and unlocking across the globe have been extending for over a period of one year, online and hybrid learning, as predicted, are becoming the new normal (Kaufman et al, 2021 ). The normalization of the new modes of learning has led to discussions on the need to renovate and reimagine existing infrastructure (Deshmukh, 2021 ), and debates over whether this shift in learning is a boon or a bane for higher education (Ma et al, 2021 ). While the spatial shifts are discussed, the transitions from the classroom spaces to home spaces, and partial transition back to the classroom spaces, have hardly been the focal point of inquiry.…”