By Misba Khan
As the South African government continues its ongoing efforts to minimize the potential effects of the coronavirus pandemic by implementing strict measures such as social distancing, educational institutions and universities are looking for alternate methods to continue with formal teaching and learning through online distance learning.
In a recent communiqué to all its students on 3 April 2020, the University of Johannesburg took the decision to move all forms of teaching and learning to online portals for the remainder of the semester (until June) regardless of the duration of the lockdown, and in doing so, has become the first university in South Africa to implement such stringent measures. We are yet to see whether other tertiary educational institutions will follow suit.
In the current age of information, technology and speeding technological advancements, online education has become more accessible than ever before. An educator can now reach thousands of students online quite easily and accessibly, and this offers substantial benefits to students during this time of crisis. Students would be able to continue with their respective courses online through the University’s various learning portals. This should allow students to complete their various courses without wasting much of this academic year.
Despite the various benefits of e-learning, however, there are multiple concerns as to how this decision would impact students who do not have access to a stable internet connection which would be crucial in order for them to complete their study programs. This would be less of a concern in a developed country where the internet is easily accessible to its population. However, as a developing nation, South Africa still has many obstacles to overcome when it comes to providing an affordable, stable and easily accessible internet connection to its citizens.
According to the findings released by Stats SA in 2016, only 59.3% of all South Africans have access to the internet. This seems like a good number compared to other African countries in contrast (approximately 28%), but it is still relatively low compared to the numbers seen in better-developed countries. Europe, for instance, sits at around 82%. The bigger problem, however, being that out of the 59.3 percent, 53% rely on mobile internet connections with just 9.5% of South Africans having an internet connection in their households. In terms of individual provinces, Gauteng leads the way with 72,2% of its population having online access, while the Western Cape is close behind with 68,5%. Limpopo continues to struggle with telecommunications infrastructure, with a mere 42,4% of residents having any sort of link to the internet, with a measly 1,6% having an active connection at home.
South African data prices are also quite exorbitant as compared to those of most other countries. In fact, according to a survey conducted by Picodi.com, South Africa has the most expensive internet prices in the world. A simple Google search can confirm this. A reason for this is due to South Africa’s lack of internet providers.
As the world quickly moves towards 5G speeds, South Africans still continue to suffer greatly from slow internet speeds and a lack of widespread coverage. Telecommunication infrastructure is still developing and it would easily take many more years before the internet quality and accessibility in our country becomes of a reputable quality.
One simple look at the data provided above, one can easily deduce that many students would be affected by the new online learning implementations put by universities in an unfavourable manner. Many students rely on the internet connection provided by the university, libraries, internet cafes and other such hotspots to complete their university work and conduct the required research. However, with our current lockdown situation, students are stranded at home and have to make do with whatever little resources they have to access their online study material.
The University of Johannesburg has tried to make this difficult situation easier for its students by working closely with telecommunication providers and making UJ websites zero-rated. This means that no data charges would be applied when students access these websites. While this is certainly a nod in the right direction when it comes to making online learning more accessible to its students, there are still many loopholes that one cannot overlook.
This plan would certainly make accessing the internet easier, but for that one has to be in an area that has good internet coverage. Students that reside in areas with a lack of internet connectivity or slower internet speeds would still be disproportionately affected. Another factor to consider would be that in order to work well and efficiently from home, students would need to access other web portals as well, such as Google and Zoom which would require data, and hence data charges would be applied which might be difficult for many to pay, particularly in this time of economic crisis when the income sources of many families are currently on hold.
While there doesn’t seem to be a cure to the Covid-19 pandemic on the horizon, universities need to be more considerate and understanding of the difficulties and challenges that their students may face while trying to achieve academic progress in these trying conditions. Universities may also work closely with telecommunications providers and attempt to make accessing the internet zero-rated for other crucial websites as well. Time will tell how greatly this lockdown will affect the most vulnerable of students.
Misba Khan is an architecture graduate from the University of Johannesburg.
Featured image from Beijing Kids via Google.
