COVID-19 – A chance for universities to regain public trust?

Higher education has been considered the prime source of knowledge and innovation and driver of development, and this is regardless of the economic, political and social status of a country. However, in most developing countries the contribution of higher education has often been associated with producing skilled human resources.

Higher education institutions are also required to actively engage in relevant research and community services which are part of their core missions. In Ethiopia, this has been clearly stated in the Higher Education Proclamation and the senate legislations of at least all public universities.

As the primary organisations charged with studying social issues, higher education institutions are also responsible for addressing society’s practical problems. In principle, their social responsibility emanates from, and focuses on, the university’s broader missions. These clearly indicate that the practice of social responsibility is not the concern of only corporates or industries but also higher education institutions.

University social responsibility

Studies indicate that the higher education sector in Ethiopia has significantly contributed to the social and political development of the country. However, for different reasons, this has been decreased in the last three decades. Government’s current strategic and policy documents clearly indicate that ensuring food security, poverty alleviation and improving quality of education are the major national problems that must be addressed.

Furthermore, society is suffering significantly from poor governance and political turmoil. In such a context, society expects a lot from universities which held a prestigious position at the heart of society in the 1960s and 1970s, especially because of the decisive role they played in overthrowing the imperial regime.

Erosion of trust

However, our recent study (Social Responsibilities in Higher Education: The case of Ethiopia, Adamu and Cremonini, in press) indicates that universities’ contribution to addressing the major national challenges and problems is deficient and, as a result, society’s trust in universities has eroded over time.

The study also identifies that, among others, the following issues are the main factors for the eroded societal trust in universities: “Failure to produce enough graduates who are highly skilled, competent and ethical; silence during difficult times such as political unrest; inability to resolve some of the most prominent real-life problems affecting Ethiopians such as plant pathogenesis; and incapacity to solve problems of their own making which directly affect society (for example, poor waste management).”

Impact of COVID-19 on universities

Similar to other parts of the world, Ethiopia is affected by the multifaceted impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Higher education is one of the sectors that has been significantly affected by the impacts.

On 16 March 2020 the government closed schools across the country immediately after the announcement of the first five COVID-19 cases. At that time, universities were not closed and the government planned to provide all essential care to students at their respective universities.

However, on 24 March, the government decided to close all higher education institutions because of the increasing number of new cases and with the purpose of preventing the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Here, it is important to note that almost all public universities are residential universities. Thus, following the full closures, students have left universities until further notice.

In a country like Ethiopia where there is poor technology infrastructure and use of ICT in promoting learning, it is not difficult to imagine the serious impact of the coronavirus pandemic on universities in executing their day-to-day activities, and thereby the impact on achieving their core missions.

Challenges and lessons

Some public universities (such as Addis Ababa University) have vowed to continue and complete their postgraduate programmes according to their academic calendar. Courses are planned to be delivered through online learning using email, websites and ‘other platforms’.

Although the effort has been much appreciated, the decision and its applicability have been questioned and heavily criticised by different groups including staff and students. This is mainly because the decision has been made without consulting students and academic staff, and despite the fact that there is a clear lack of experience in designing and delivering online learning.

Yet, one thing that has often been heard from the higher education community is that there is a big lesson learnt from COVID-19 regarding universities’ ability and preparedness to provide online learning, which is considered part and parcel of the future of education.

Combatting COVID-19

Ethiopian universities are among the institutions that have been actively involved in combatting COVID-19. Many public universities have participated in, inter alia, organising transport to send students home; preparing their campuses to be used as quarantine centres; initiating research on issues related to COVID-19; mobilising their communities to participate in volunteer services and to donate money for initiatives that aim to prevent the spread of the coronavirus; participating in creating awareness on COVID-19; providing food and cleaning items to people in need; producing much-needed items such as hand sanitisers, masks and gowns for health professionals, etc.

As reported by several media outlets, the universities’ effort in preventing the spread of the coronavirus pandemic has been much appreciated by different groups of society. This has also been noticed in social media. Generally, as much as their ambition and effort to continue postgraduate programmes have been denounced, their effort in preventing the spread of the coronavirus pandemic is much acclaimed.

It can be argued that COVID-19 is partly a blessing in disguise for universities in Ethiopia because it provides them an opportunity to regain the progressively eroding societal trust in universities. It is up to them now to build strategically on this momentum, prove their worth to society in many ways, and improve and cement their collaboration and relationship with society.

Abebaw Yirga Adamu is associate professor of education at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.