The Vindication of Decoloniality and the Reality of COVID-19 as an Emergency of Unknown in Rural Universities

Abstract

Coronavirus, otherwise known as COVID-19, was adjudged as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in February 2020. This deadly, contagious, and easy-to-spread virus has plunged the world into a tentative cul-de-sac, inclusive of the university education system. By implication, the abrupt national lockdown in South Africa cut universities unaware as an insurgence against its operationalisation, teaching, and learning process. In my argument, it further confirms the need to decolonise rural universities, to be able to respond to every unforeseen emergency, as an underside of coloniality, which is currently experienced in the system. Evidence indicates that the rural universities in South Africa are battling with enabling pedestal of alternatives to teaching and learning. This study is lensed through Transformative Paradigm (TP), Participatory Research (PR) was used as a research design. The participants consisted of 15 people, 5 management staff such as the deans, head of schools, head of teaching and learning and ICT members, 5 lecturers and 5 students in a selected rural university in South Africa. The participants were selected using the snowballing selection technique with the use of calls, email and other social media platforms as a medium of participants’ recruitment. Online and phone interviews were used to collect data from the participants because the participants are under national lockdown, and the data was analysed using thematic analysis. Low technology and innovative space in rural universities and students, lecturers and university’s disadvantage background were found as the major challenges vindicating the quest for decoloniality in rural universities. Also, the compulsory used of technological innovation within the university and contingency plan for/by the stakeholders are concluded to be achievable with the use of Assets-Based Approach.