Was COVID-19 a Pandemic of Privilege for Higher Education Students in the Global South?

Abstract

The COVID-19 outbreak prompted the unforeseen and premature recess of many institutions of higher education in the global south as the safety of students and staff was a primary priority. To avoid losing time on the academic calendar, many institutions resorted to an adapted strategy of teaching and learning known as e-learning. E-learning requires one to have access to equipment, such as a laptop, and internet at home – two things that students in the global south did not previously need for higher education, nor would they have foreseen that they would need it. One of the defining characteristics of privilege is having access to resources to tend to unforeseen needs and wants—due to the prevailing inequality across the global south, there are many who do not have access to such resources. There is limited literature exploring the intersecting implications of the COVID-19 pandemic and privilege in the global south. In this commentary, the authors discuss how and why coping with the COVID-19 pandemic required a certain level of privilege for higher education students in the global south.