Managing higher education institutions in the context of COVID-19 stringency: Experiences of stakeholders at a rural South African university
The COVID-19 pandemic poses unparalleled challenges to education systems around the world, all of which have devastating effects. While these effects have been troubling in developing and developed countries, rural education systems in developing countries have particularly been most susceptible to...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of the Free State
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Perspectives in Education |
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| Online Access: | http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/pie/article/view/4606 |
| _version_ | 1827320508006268928 |
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| author | Vusi Mncube Bonginkosi Hardy Mutongoza Emmanuel Olawale |
| author_facet | Vusi Mncube Bonginkosi Hardy Mutongoza Emmanuel Olawale |
| author_sort | Vusi Mncube |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
The COVID-19 pandemic poses unparalleled challenges to education systems around the world, all of which have devastating effects. While these effects have been troubling in developing and developed countries, rural education systems in developing countries have particularly been most susceptible to collapse. The unique context of rural universities makes it difficult to implement approaches similar to those implemented in the developed world and/or more urban-based institutions. Underpinned by Von Bertalanffy’s Systems Theory, which argues that organisations are composed of systems that have goals to achieve, this paper thus sought to explore the coping mechanisms instituted at a rural South African university in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. It further sought to establish how the university has managed to cope with the challenges that are unique to rural universities as exacerbated by the onset of the pandemic. Underpinned by a post-positivist paradigm, the study employed a mixed methods approach through which data was collected using online questionnaires and interviews. The findings of the study revealed that although the institution had put some measures in place to ensure that the university is efficiently managed in the context of COVID-19 stringencies, university stakeholders are still faced with insurmountable challenges that range from campus safety, cancellation and postponement of examinations, as well as weakened research and international collaborations. Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that South African institutions and the government need to invest more on safety infrastructural facilities that will ensure that rural university stakeholders are safe. Furthermore, there is a need for technical infrastructural facilities that enable the shift from conventional assessment, teaching and learning approaches to a more blended educational model.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T04:41:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-736e1318d1f645f4b12bbd54f13e0c9d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0258-2236 2519-593X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-25T00:48:30Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | University of the Free State |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Perspectives in Education |
| spelling | doaj.art-736e1318d1f645f4b12bbd54f13e0c9d2024-03-11T23:06:00ZengUniversity of the Free StatePerspectives in Education0258-22362519-593X2021-03-01391Managing higher education institutions in the context of COVID-19 stringency: Experiences of stakeholders at a rural South African universityVusi Mncube0Bonginkosi Hardy Mutongoza1Emmanuel Olawale2University of Fort Hare, South AfricaUniversity of Fort Hare, South AfricaUniversity of Fort Hare, South Africa The COVID-19 pandemic poses unparalleled challenges to education systems around the world, all of which have devastating effects. While these effects have been troubling in developing and developed countries, rural education systems in developing countries have particularly been most susceptible to collapse. The unique context of rural universities makes it difficult to implement approaches similar to those implemented in the developed world and/or more urban-based institutions. Underpinned by Von Bertalanffy’s Systems Theory, which argues that organisations are composed of systems that have goals to achieve, this paper thus sought to explore the coping mechanisms instituted at a rural South African university in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. It further sought to establish how the university has managed to cope with the challenges that are unique to rural universities as exacerbated by the onset of the pandemic. Underpinned by a post-positivist paradigm, the study employed a mixed methods approach through which data was collected using online questionnaires and interviews. The findings of the study revealed that although the institution had put some measures in place to ensure that the university is efficiently managed in the context of COVID-19 stringencies, university stakeholders are still faced with insurmountable challenges that range from campus safety, cancellation and postponement of examinations, as well as weakened research and international collaborations. Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that South African institutions and the government need to invest more on safety infrastructural facilities that will ensure that rural university stakeholders are safe. Furthermore, there is a need for technical infrastructural facilities that enable the shift from conventional assessment, teaching and learning approaches to a more blended educational model. http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/pie/article/view/4606Rural universitiesCOVID-19EducationLearning PandemicRemote learning |
| spellingShingle | Vusi Mncube Bonginkosi Hardy Mutongoza Emmanuel Olawale Managing higher education institutions in the context of COVID-19 stringency: Experiences of stakeholders at a rural South African university Perspectives in Education Rural universities COVID-19 Education Learning Pandemic Remote learning |
| title | Managing higher education institutions in the context of COVID-19 stringency: Experiences of stakeholders at a rural South African university |
| title_full | Managing higher education institutions in the context of COVID-19 stringency: Experiences of stakeholders at a rural South African university |
| title_fullStr | Managing higher education institutions in the context of COVID-19 stringency: Experiences of stakeholders at a rural South African university |
| title_full_unstemmed | Managing higher education institutions in the context of COVID-19 stringency: Experiences of stakeholders at a rural South African university |
| title_short | Managing higher education institutions in the context of COVID-19 stringency: Experiences of stakeholders at a rural South African university |
| title_sort | managing higher education institutions in the context of covid 19 stringency experiences of stakeholders at a rural south african university |
| topic | Rural universities COVID-19 Education Learning Pandemic Remote learning |
| url | http://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/pie/article/view/4606 |
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