Abstract
Amidst the outbreak of COVID-19 worldwide, virtually all national governments declared a “lockdown” of all institutions in a bid to curtail its spread. This posed serious challenges to programme delivery and assessment in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), with foreseeable long and short-term consequences. This study investigated the effectiveness of virtual programme delivery and assessment in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) during the COVID-19 (Corona Virus) pandemic, from a global perspective. The study assesses the success rate of virtual teaching and learning via various online platforms that were set up to make up for time lost due to the unanticipated global HEIs closure. Organisational Change Theory was used to inform the study, within the confines of simple qualitative research approach. Data were collected using interview while participants were selected through convenience sampling technique via online platforms such as the reputable online academic community, email, WhatsApp, and the UNESCO website. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings revealed disparities in responses to virtual learning across HEIs and national contexts. Training and re-training of lecturers and students, and the provision of virtual learning enabling infrastructure, were recommended to mitigate similar situation in future.
Highlights
There is a systemic relationship between „institutions‟ and „society‟, and a „Higher institution‟ is a subset of a system called the „society‟ (Francois 2015; Gary et al, 2013)
It is a reality that all higher education institutions across the globe have been forced to close in response to COVID-19 pandemic, prompting Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to transit to a virtual learning platform
This study examined the virtual programme delivery assessment in HEI‟s around the world during COVID-19 pandemic
Summary
There is a systemic relationship between „institutions‟ and „society‟, and a „Higher institution‟ is a subset of a system called the „society‟ (Francois 2015; Gary et al, 2013). Due to COVID-19‟s highly contagious nature and the ease of spread, most governments adopted proactive measures to contain the virus These included the declaration of public lockdowns, that included institutions of learning excepting essential services (Zhang, Wang, Yang, & Wang, 2020; Ezeri, 2020; South African News Agency, 2020). In Tunisia, the student union, under the auspices of the General Tunisian Union of Students (UGET), opposed the government‟s adoption of virtual programme delivery and assessment. The rationale for their opposition was premised on inequality in students‟ socio-economic background, which deprived the less privileged the opportunity to be part of distance learning (University World News, 2020). The present research investigated how the world HEIs fared vis a vis programme delivery and assessment during COVID–19 occasioned school closures
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