Online Learning Within Universities in the African Continent During COVID-19 and Beyond the Pandemic

Abstract

The concept of digitization of African universities is not a new concept. Online learning within universities was a highly contentious issue causing heated debates over the years. The COVID-19 pandemic fast tracked online learning within African universities, and 2020 saw a new online pedagogy of teaching and learning that replaced a traditional classroom scenario with a virtual classroom within African universities. To prevent the spread of the virus, government and university leadership within many African countries saw online learning as the only alternative that could keep the university students and staff safe during the pandemic. The major objective of this chapter is to unpack challenges faced by African universities when they migrated to a virtual learning platform. The opportunity of added metaverse technologies into online programs will also be addressed. The researcher will highlight the challenges faced by the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) and provide insights on what this South African university did to manage these challenges.