The impact of Covid19 pandemic on higher education sector in Africa

Abstract

The wave of Covid 19 that started in 2020 speedily spread from one part of the world to another. It was quickly carried into the African continent by human migrants that have had contacts with infected persons and objects. Consequently, Covid 19 began to threaten lives and properties of many Africans. While the continent faced the dangerous pandemic, individuals and governments struggled to cope with the crisis that the pandemic has introduced. Many sectors of the economy of African states suffered in different forms, from health to tourism to the education sector. This study focused on the impact of Covid 19 pandemic on higher education sector in Africa. The study used documentary analysis and key informant interviews that were interpreted using theories of knowledge in science education to reveal that the pandemic affected physical teaching and learning. It created hunger, fear, death, lockdown, visa, migration, and vaccination problems as well as the introduction of online mode of teaching and learning. The study recommended the strengthening of the online mode of teaching and learning across the higher institutions of learning in Africa through public and private support, as a way of ensuring that the continent is up to date with the realities of the fast-changing world