WHILE THERE IS OVERWHELMING DESIRE ON THE PART OF POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION AND TRAINING PROVIDERS AND STUDENTS TO SUCCEED WITH ONLINE TEACHING AND LEARNING, THERE MUST BE RECOGNITION THAT A DIGITAL DIVIDE EXISTS AND THERE IS, MORE THAN EVER BEFORE, THE NEED FOR AN INCLUSIVE APPROACH. Prof Saurabh Sinha: Inclusive online education and innovation in COVID-19 period and the Four th Industrial Revolution era
While HEIs certainly have this ability to innovate, the enduring problems of inequality of the broader South African society challenges this desire. Recently, I have been inundated with queries on social media or email from our students or student leaders, and contestation is frequently about the online approach. I will try to contextualise this experience. In response to uncertainty over the duration of the lockdown, fear of an increase in COVID-19 cases and institutional regulations, many students returned home. And with universities now pushing for online teaching and learning, one student from Limpopo posted an image in the description of his home situation: a corrugated iron ‘house’ he shares with his siblings and single mother. While the student is supported by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), he partially co-funds others in his household. The student receives a message from his university, alerting him to
an announcement on the learning management system (LMS). He tries to log in through his mobile phone, but the device does not support the sophisticated interface of the LMS. He reaches a fellow student, who then forwards the circular via WhatsApp. From Johannesburg, another student tweets a screenshot; her online LMS experience is positive; and she is perusing the orientation material offered by the same university. She comments that she finally has a university education that gives her learning flexibility. For internet access, she benefits from the fibre infrastructure of the city. Yet, the experience is different to when both are in Johannesburg and seated in the same classroom, as the setting makes their situation somewhat uniform, and both acquire education from a lecturer. The PSET sector has a deep understanding of this depicted inequality, which some lecturers have experienced first-hand, and many see hope through education. HEIs often quote Nelson Mandela’s
By Saurabh Sinha
With the world gripped by fear and uncertainties over the COVID-19 pandemic, questions are being raised as to whether the post- secondary education and training (PSET) sector will be able to complete the current academic year. As matters stand, universities are scrambling for solutions to salvage
their academic programmes, having extended their Easter recess periods. And with the
pandemic showing no immediate signs of abating, and with no end in sight for the national lockdown, the possibility of the education sector being thrown into further disarray could be looming large. An academic year straddling two years will create numerous problems. It is in this context that within the PSET sector, higher education institutions (HEIs) in South Africa may be best positioned to innovate and to lead online education as an alternative to contact, face- to-face teaching and learning.
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