COVID-19 has exacerbated inequality in higher education

Economy, society, business and higher education across the world have conspicuously been affected by COVID-19. Things have changed and life will not be the same as before.

In the sectors of education and higher education, the pandemic has posed significant challenges for teachers, students, investors and parents. The main challenge was to rescue the education process and prevent losing the 2019-2020 academic year. The introduction of online education during this pandemic has been the means by which higher education has sought to rescue the situation.

However, in order to understand the status of the education process in relation to COVID-19, we must ask three important questions: how did COVID-19 affect the process of education in schools and universities in different parts of the world? What have been the major challenges encountered by educational institutions and stakeholders during the pandemic and in relation to the implementation of online education? What can be done to sustain the success so far in order to achieve educational goals if the pandemic continues?

According to recent United Nations reports, COVID-19 has caused an education crisis, in particular to students and teachers. There is a fear that the pandemic will acutely affect the progress achieved in recent decades worldwide. The two main aspects affected include teaching-learning and education financing.

Campus study has been replaced by online teaching and learning activities, a totally new experience for some countries and institutions.

The biggest concern of academics and policy-makers involves loss of learning. Estimates about global learning loss are hard to make, given the different levels of preparation and resilience achieved in different countries and regions.

And, with the priority given mostly to public healthcare and safety, education funding is likely to be affected, varying in degree from high-income countries to middle- and low-income ones.

The situation in developed and developing countries

The transition to online teaching was somewhat smoother and less demanding in developed countries than in developing countries. Providing the infrastructure and funding needed for facilitating online teaching was not easy for schools and universities in developing countries, in particular.

While many schools and universities managed to arrange online courses in a short time, for others it was more challenging and stressful. Moreover, even though online courses were prepared and provided, the whole process was delivered on an untested basis and many students could not access the material provided due to lack of equipment or internet access.

In developing countries, such as some of the Arab countries, the immediate transfer to online learning was very challenging, primarily due to two key factors: a rejection of online education systems and poor internet penetration.

Most educational systems in Arab countries were against online education up until the outbreak of COVID-19 which forced them to change. COVID-19 left them with no alternative but to accept and adopt online systems. In terms of internet services and national technological infrastructures, countries with limited capacities found it extremely hard to manage the delivery of online education successfully.

In Iraq and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, the situation has been particularly acute for public schools and universities in comparison to that in private institutions which enjoy more financial independence.

However, in order to support the continuity of students’ education and to avoid any cuts, the ministries of education and higher education in Iraq and Kurdistan Region have allowed a blended form of education for the 2020-2021 academic year, taking into account the current unstable health and financial situation.

Adopting online education puts the quality of the education process at risk because students cannot access online education materials mainly due to poor internet penetration. This is definitely the case in rural areas and has led the Ministry of Education in the Kurdistan Region to apply in-school teaching for primary and secondary education.

Major challenges

The educational response to COVID-19 has differed from one country to another, according to the educational, economic and social structures of different countries. These aspects are reflected in the type and level of challenges encountered in the response process. Major challenges included limited infrastructure, staff skills, assessment processes and financial preparation.

These aspects were less challenging in developed countries, such as the US, UK and most European countries. In contrast, in developing countries, such as many Arab countries, the situation was more problematic. It is worth noting that, among these challenges, designing appropriate assessment tools or simply examinations that fit all faculties and field studies was the most bewildering part to arrange in the online education process.

In addition, social trust and social order were another challenge. Confidence in the delivery of online education and society’s interaction with it can either support or undermine the whole process of online education.

Moreover, while online education may replace campus-based education in terms of fulfilling course or credit requirements, it can hardly provide the tools needed in, for example, social skills development or problem-solving and leadership skills. Studying at home will limit learning such skills.

Planning for the future

Blended education and online education are most probably expected to continue after this pandemic, even in developing and Arab countries. COVID-19 could be a catalyst for unique changes in the development of educational systems and educational institutions worldwide. The changes may involve everything from pedagogy, learning outcomes, tools and methods of assessments to educational investment and socio-educational interaction.

In some Arab countries, such as Egypt and United Arab Emirates, ministries of higher education have already recognised online education and decrees have been issued about it. It is too early to know or measure how such decisions might affect the education process and degree awarding process.

Therefore, if the health situation imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic continues, policy-makers in education systems across the world should look beyond mere immediate education goals and lay down strategies that address other needs, then act accordingly. Failure to do so would result in serious learning loss in the near and distant future.

For instance, it is highly likely that inequality will increase among students across countries and within the same country or region.

Education institutions (whether public or private) will vary in terms of the technological infrastructure and changes they will need to make in order to run their teaching and learning processes more efficiently.

Sameerah Saeed is director of quality assurance at Tishk International University, Erbil, Iraq.