Universities gear up to save the academic year

Universities around South Africa are getting ready to resume the academic year next week. Only this time, students won’t be flooding back to campuses after a lengthy vacation. Instead, online teaching and learning has been touted as the top solution to save the academic year in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic and the extended lockdown period.

The University of Johannesburg, Stellenbosch University, Rhodes and Wits have confirmed that their second term will begin remotely on 20 April.

Although distance learning is nothing new, it is unprecedented at this scale and many are anxious about whether it will succeed or deepen existing inequalities to education access.

High data costs, connectivity issues, as well as access to laptops and other devices are just a few points of concern.

Survey results from Wits University found that 10% to 15% of their students do not have access to “appropriate computing devices, adequate access to data or conducive learning environments”.

The University of Cape Town is also conducting a student access survey to gauge which students need additional resources.

Wits and UCT are loaning laptops to students, based on financial need. Devices are being delivered to students where possible.

Rhodes University has reached out to its alumni, businesses and members of the public to contribute to a Covid-19 relief fund to purchase laptops.

But as Universities South Africa CEO Ahmed Bawa points out, some universities are better-resourced than others to offer digital learning.

“While all institutions have systems in place for blended learning, not all of them are at the same level of preparedness in terms of their technology and human capacity platforms,” he told Daily Maverick.

In late March, the Department of Higher Education, Science and Technology had said it was offering immediate assistance to tertiary institutions that don’t have the capability to provide online teaching.

At the time of publication, the department had not responded to queries regarding how many institutions were receiving assistance and what type of interventions were being offered.

Wits, UCT and Stellenbosch, turned to the private sector for assistance. To work around data costs, they struck deals with the four major mobile network providers for free access to their online platforms.

These include student portals, library services and lecture streaming sites such as Opencast.

Some institutions have also scrapped formal invigilated exams and instead, students will undergo continuous assessment throughout the semester in the form of assignments and online tests.

Stellenbosch has waived prerequisite module requirements for Semester 2 courses, while UCT has decided that there will be no academic exclusions during 2020.

One major hurdle, however, is that the practical or fieldwork component of some courses will have to be done once the situation has settled down. Universities have restructured their academic calendars to accommodate this, but realistically, no one knows how soon the pandemic will subside.

According to Bawa, depending on the timeline of the pandemic, the academic year may run into “late December” or even the “first part of 2021”. Some disciplines, such as the arts, are almost completely reliant on contact teaching and assessment.

 

Mental health is also an issue of concern. According to the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag), in 2018, suicide was the second leading cause of death among university students.