Navigating the dark: understanding the impact of load-shedding on Learning Management Systems (LMS) in South African Universities

Abstract

This qualitative study investigated the forte of load-shedding on the gains of digital technology integration in a selected South African university in Gauteng province. This case study made use of interviews which were conducted using MS Teams among 8 lecturers and 8 students that were selected purposefully. The interpretive paradigm was used to understand the participants’ plight in the reversal of gains that load-shedding continues to bring in their university post-COVID-19 outbreak. The complexity theory was used to underpin the study and the main findings revealed through themes that both the students and lecturers struggle with the learning and teaching activities that need digital tools because of the persistence of load-shedding that affect innovation and skill impartation. It was also revealed that modems that are used as internet sources fail to function during load-shedding because the network is often affected when lights are off. The study recommends that South African universities should invest in renewable energy and resort to an uninterruptible power supply to keep the lights on. All the role-players of ESKOM need to pull in one direction to have a lasting solution that should keep the lights on for digital tools to keep working.