| Abstract: | This study was based on the objective of assessing the impact of COVID-19 on all aspects of higher education country-wide, including policy, academic affairs, management and financial responses, and psychological fitness of stakeholders within the higher education sector of the Maldives. The emergency response of the higher education institutions (HEIs) to the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of their response on students, staff and the institutions were analysed by collecting data both quantitatively (stakeholder survey questionnaires) and qualitatively (stakeholder interviews). In total, 12 stakeholder interviews were conducted with higher education stakeholders, and 1187 survey questionnaires were filled by students and academic & non-academic staff of HEIs. The findings show adjustments that were made by HEIs and the challenges faced by the students, staff, and the institutions in transitioning to remote online teaching and learning. The HEIs in this study responded to the COVID-19 pandemic in three phases which were: 1) evaluating the impact of the pandemic on teaching and learning of the HEIs; 2) planning for continuity of education during the pandemic; and 3) resuming teaching and learning virtually. To facilitate the remote online teaching and learning virtually, HEIs provided various support to their students; namely, technical support, academic support, and psychological support. Further, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted all HEIs and their stakeholders financially. The main challenges faced by stakeholders during the remote online teaching and learning were found to be issues in internet connectivity, unsuitable home environment, and limited preparedness in the use of information communication technologies in teaching and learning. The findings of this study have implications for higher education institutions in continuing their teaching and learning activities during emergency situations and in future educational programs offered. Further, the findings are significant for higher education policy makers in the Maldives, namely the Ministry of Higher Education and the Maldives Qualification Authority, in the need for emergency preparedness and quick responses to ensure quality of higher education even in the face of a pandemic.
1. BACKGROUND
Since December 2019, SARS-COV-2 VIRUS (COVID-19), a highly infectious disease caused by a new virus, has become a major disruption to universities around the world including the Maldives, with most institutions suspending in-person classes and moving to online-only instruction in the wake of this deadly virus.
One recommendation made by the health authorities of governments across the world to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, was to maintain an appropriate physical distance between individuals. As a result, to minimize exposure of the students and staff to the COVID-19 virus, several educational institutions across 144 countries were temporarily closed impacting almost 68 percent of the world’s enrolled student population (UNESCO, 2020). The disease imposing mobility restrictions has particularly affected the tertiary education sector. The pandemic has significantly altered nearly every aspect of university operation including teaching and learning, admissions and enrolment to student support service, raising concerns over the quality of higher education provision during the emergency teaching period. According to the International Association of Universities, the total number of students and youth affected are more than 1.5 billion (IAU, 2020). In South Asia Region alone, over 42 million students in 50,000 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) of 8 countries are affected by the pandemic (South Asia: Higher Education, 2020). These concerns further extend to the financial future of higher education institutions in a time of financial instability, both in the form of unforeseen costs and potential drops in revenue.
Students attending universities and other higher education institutions create a dense network through which infectious diseases can easily spread (Weeden & Benjamin, 2020). As such several measures were put in place by higher education institutions across the globe to secure the wellbeing of their students and staff and to make the disruption to their functions as minimal as possible. These measures were revised multiple times by many institutions as the situation unfolded, for health and safety of staff and students were their priority. Accordingly, the two main changes suggested by the European Association for International Higher Education include the offering of the courses on an online mode or deferring enrolment or the programme to a later term for student affected by the pandemic (EAIE, 2020).
To prevent the spread of COVID-19 through their institutions, several HIEs chose to change the vast majority of their courses from face-to-face teaching to remote teaching mostly done online through digital technology. In the United States alone, more than 200 colleges and universities suspended classes and moved online (EAIE, 2020). Some universities that lacked the necessary Information Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure had to postpone teaching-learning activities until further notice (Policy Brief, 2020). In other universities, facilities such as libraries that closed initially, were later permitted to open with instructions to operate in a COVID-secure way (Higher Education, 2020).
The sudden switch to digital technology was not easy. It also induced a lot of stress for the educators and students and made some feel overloaded with work. To ease them, some institutions suspended exams and strengthened the support services to students. Protocols and guiding documents to steer the students and educators through the process of the change were made (South Asia: Higher Education, 2020).
The switch to remote education after closing campuses was to ensure educational and research activities were carried on during the pandemic with minimal disruption. This step exposed not only the “digital inequity” of the community but also the shortcomings of the education systems. While access to digital technology and its devices were an issue to some, access to a reliable internet network was an issue to the others. The digital divide was huge even within communities and HEIs were faced with facilitating the means through which digital equipment for the needy staff and students can be arranged (South Asia: Higher Education, 2020). Training of educators in adapting to the use of technology and getting them acquainted with the new mode of teaching came with hurdles. These challenges required immediate attention so as to successfully conduct the remote learning sessions. HEIs had to formulate and run training modules for the educators on online teaching and assessing (Rashid & Yadav, 2020). |
