Achievements and challenges for Higher Education during the COVID-19 pandemic: A rapid review of media in Africa
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Date
2021
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
MPDI
Abstract
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic struck globally and has affected higher education institutions (HEIs) and their operations, indirectly impacting the progress of the Sustainable
Development Goal 4 achieved thus far. This article addresses HEIs achievements and challenges
experienced in the wake of the pandemic. Online news media reports played a facilitative role
in providing information to the HEI communities. A rapid review exploring online news media
messages relating to higher education at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa was utilised.
Narrative synthesis was used to analyse the data. The results highlight HEIs achievements, which
aim to ensure that all students receive the same level of education and provision in terms of devices
and mental health support. However, challenges were also experienced at HEIs and include students
feeling uncertainty and fear regarding completing their education. Furthermore, the results also show
that not all students received the same level of education due to contextual factors, thus deepening
the existing social disparities in Africa. The pandemic provides an opportunity for HEIs to embed
the components of global citizenship education into the curriculum and to work in an innovative
way to promote Sustainable Development Goal 4.
Description
Keywords
COVID-19 pandemic, Global citizenship education, Higher education, Online education, Media in Africa
Citation
Sonn, I. K. (2021). Achievements and challenges for Higher Education during the COVID-19 pandemic: A rapid review of media in Africa. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(24), 12888. 10.3390/ijerph182412888