Volume 7, Issue 9, September – 2022 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology

ISSN No:-2456-2165

Challenges and Survival Strategies for Higher

Learning Institutions Post Covid -19
Gwebente Mudenda, Dr Burton Mweemba, Professor Edwin Bbenkele, Boyd Longwe, Windu Matoka
ZCAS University, School of Business Lusaka, Zambia

Abstract:- The higher education sector has experienced I. INTRODUCTION

turbulence and crises over the years such as
earthquakes, hurricanes and other catastrophes. Higher The Covid- 19 pandemic has been witnessed in many
learning institutions have responded to these in diverse spheres of life, including management of higher learning
ways. The Covid-19 pandemic unlike other forms of institutions (Bebbington, 2021). The pandemic has brought
crises which oftentimes were region specific in nature about many challenges in many sectors of the economy
was a global crisis. The epidemic in addition to being a across the globe (Tamrat, 2021). Following the disease
global phenomenon came so swiftly and was associated management protocols which were put forward, some
with protocols that instantly required abandonment of organisations closed down while others survived and had to
traditional modes of teaching and learning as it required find avenues for survival in an environment that had
social distancing measures to save lives for tertiary experienced stagnation and turbulence (Tamrat, 2021). It is
institution workers and students. Most educational against this background that this research has been
institutions had to resort to remote or virtual learning commissioned.
modes of teaching and learning. As a result of urgency
with which the pandemic came, there was little room to II. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
reflect on the response strategies or even budget for The purpose of the study is to review scholarly
follow up interventions. The key impacts from the literature onhigher learning institution’s survival strategies
pandemic were that there was sudden shift to online recommended by researchers in response to the pandemic.
modes of delivery across the globe. This brought about The study is intended to answer the following research
mental strain among learners and lecturers who had to questions:
shift to predominantly online modes of engagement with
 How did Covid- 19 affect tertiary learning institutions?
minimal or no prior training on use of online teaching
 What strategies have been used by higher learning
and learning platforms.
institutions in the post Covid- 19 era to mitigate its
Furthermore, higher learning institutions adverse effects?
experienced reduced incomes especially for institutions
III. METHODOLOGY
that heavily depended on foreign students as enrolments
shrank due to travel bans that were associated with the The study will take a cross sectional review of selected
pandemic. The response mechanisms which succeeded scholarly articles on the subject from materials on the
were those closely tied to institutions that already had subject from April 2020 to June 2022. For purposes of this
online engagement before the pandemic. Major review, the two research questions will be addressedby
challenges encountered by learning institutions had to do consideringa number of studies that were undertaken from
with online delivery support infrastructure, learning different parts of the globe. Some literature assumes a global
platforms, internet access, speed and cost. No universal perspective while others are region specific studies. The
survival strategies emerged except for smooth transiting literature was drawn from Australia, Ethiopia, South Africa,
from face to face interactions to virtual modes of USA and Romania to mention but a few. The researchers
delivery. Stakeholder engagement was identified as a took such a perspective to have a broad understanding of
critical factor by institutional leaders in coming up with impacts the pandemic had on higher learning institutions and
survival strategies, for mitigating the adverse effects of follow up mitigation strategies to withstand the turbulence.
the pandemic.
Insights from the literature would be used for drawing
Keywords:- Covid-19, Crises, Response, Strategies. conclusions on effects of the pandemic and resultant
mitigation strategies.

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Volume 7, Issue 9, September – 2022 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
A. Overview of the Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Higher alternatives (Graham and Donaldson, 2020). As a result,
Education Globally politicians regularly turned to urgent pronouncements to
Global higher education is no stranger to the upheaval reach snap judgments. There was no time for preparing
caused by significant social, political, and economic change, during times of heightened pandemic or high disturbance as
but the magnitude and scope of COVID-19 are it was imperative to act quickly and carefully Global spread
unprecedented in an era when it is both widely accessible as well as the interruption of indigenous procedures from an
and extremely internationalized. Leaders were forced by the unforeseen danger were what made this outbreak what it
COVID-19 epidemic to make crucial choices in the face of was. Therefore, COVID-19 is better described as the
uncertainty, peril, volatility, and time constraints in order to dynamics of disaster whereby instability characterizes the
discover ways to save their people and their businesses. environment. The COVID reaction began to be extensively
known in lines of swift intervention to safeguard lives
Turbulence is ‘a period of inherently uncertain, shifting, (Sharma, 2020). And so was the experience with COVID-
incoherent, changeable, unexpected or unpredictable 19, disasters frequently force leadership to create snap
interactions between occurrences, expectations, and/or judgments rather than lengthy preparations
people, more often than not referred to as the "ground is in whenevercompanies need to switch between ordinary
motion"’ (Garretson, 2021).Due to the turbulence that programming engagement to speedy reaction (Horton,
results, the emergency occasion might already have passed 2020). Disruption encourages academic institutions to
or altered by the period implementable learning occurs. improve business activities, but it also frequently causes
Turbulence, according to Ansell (2017, p. 78) is ‘a condition demand for quick, abrupt change that could show extreme
where events, needs, and assistance interplay and fluctuate volatility (Lemoine, 2020). International universities and
in extremely unstable, irregular, unanticipated, or colleges were under pressure to respond swiftly to these
unforeseen ways.’ Due to their constant variability and lack shifting circumstances in time to prevent incompatibilities
of consistence, unsteady occurrences are also perceived as within their surroundings.
chaotic as they exhibit disarray and uncertainty (Lemoine,
2020). The three things which seem to cause turbulence For organizations, disruption frequently brings shocks,
most frequently are quickness, complication, and crisis which makes planning challenging. A company's ability to
escalation. A crisis is ‘a major risk towards the complexes predict things is a prerequisite for planning. While
or rather the underlying traditions of a community, instability makes it challenging to make predictions,
necessitating the taking of important choices within time planning would frequently perform poorly within those
pressures in extremely unknown conditions’(Garretson, circumstances. Disruption makes it difficult to make split
2021). Potential danger, speed, plus ambiguity constitute second decisions, yet authorities for tertiary education
three crucial characteristics of a crisis, according to (Boin, around the world reacted in a nearly unprecedented show of
2010). When there is a need for an immediate reaction to solidarity by shutting institutions and switching to virtual
events that is unknown and endangers core beliefs or life- learning to keep people safe (students, teachers, and
supporting mechanisms, a crisis has occurred (Zhang, 2018). employees) and their output (client knowledge) (Marshall J.,
Turbulence can also result in unexpected events, instability, 2020). To become more resilient, an institution must learn
quickly changing operating plans, competing priorities, and what to do to transition from its pre-crisis status to a given
unpredictability (Boin and Ansell, 2019). role that is superior (Izumi, 2020). It refers to navigating the
problem with plenty dexterity to deal with difficulties and
Global marketization has engulfed tertiary education, increase reactivity to different experiences. Being a
and the business for universities around the world is worldwide issue, Covid-19 affects nearly majority of the
growing quickly. The development, distribution, and use of planet (Carpenter, 2020).
learning is crucial for the world's colleges and universities.
Because of the turbulence in this chaotic world, knowledge B. Covid - 19 Impact on Australian Public Universities.
and information are held in higher regard and are therefore Carnegie (2021) did a research based on Australian
more globally connected than economic considerations, public universities on effects of covid-19 pandemic. This
which leads to a state of dynamic instability. Nevertheless, research likened to the impacts of Covid-19 to the ‘black
the worldwide higher education industry is generally seen as elephant in the room’. The basis of giving such an approach
a key driver of economic growth. Keeping a distinct identity was that there was a problem in Australian public
and still being adaptable enough even to handle volatility, universities although no one was willing to publicly talk
like the COVID-19 epidemic, is difficult for several about the problem (Ibid). The purpose of the study was to
businesses nowadays (Waller, 2020). Our world is becoming explore the social and financial risks that were associated
more unstable, and the challenges prevent their being with the pandemic. The authors gathered data using media
available and waiting answers. The ability of leadership to reports and annual reports from the thirty-seven public
make decisions amid times of peril, pressure, or ambiguity is universities based in Australia.
demonstrated more by volatility throughout a disaster.
Significant trade-offs are involved during epidemic The challenge to Covid-19 was termed as the black
regulatory changes, like reducing educational engagement elephant in the room because according to legislation, public
that preserve life (Busby, 2020). Unfortunately, due to the universities are not supposed to be profit making institutions
unresolved research and inconsistent data regarding but charitable institutions (Carnegie, 2021). Despite that,
COVID-19, important choices were taken without just like other universities elsewhere, Australian universities
authorities having a complete understanding on available were expected to create and share knowledge for the benefit

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Volume 7, Issue 9, September – 2022 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
of the masses. To support this ideal, Australian public careful planning to maximise engagement and minimise
universities used to get grants from the government. student fraud in assessments (Lassoued, 2020). In
However, these grants were not adequate to support responding to the epidemic, institutions had to make do with
university operations. It was against such background that the available infrastructure.
the authorities decided to liken the Australian situation as
the elephant in the room as there was a problem which no Migration from face to face to Emergency Remote
one was willing to openly discuss. The grants were Education (ERE) came with challenges. These included four
inadequate but universities were still expected to deliver major dimensions.The first dimension was personal
satisfactorily (Andrew, 2020). rejection and resistance to emergency remote education. The
second aspect had to do with challenges closely related to
Due to inadequate public funding for universities, administering examinations and tests online and being able
there has been commercialisation of public universities to identify student strengths and weaknesses. The third
(Carnegie, 2021). This initiative embraced four dimensions challenge had to do with technical challenges. This had to
of focusing on performance management, adoption of do with weak internet speed, security and data
competitive quasi market methods for recruiting students, confidentiality. The fourth obstacle had to do with financial
increasing dependence on international student fee income, difficulties. To deliver online, it was necessary to have
and intensifying competition for research grant financing capabilities and platforms to communicate remotely. Some
(Ibid). students had challenges procuring computers for use for the
exercise Oliveira (2021). Despite these obstacles,
Foreign student’s income became a significant institutions had to migrate to remote education as a matter of
proportion for universities operating in Australia. In 2018 emergency.
the number of foreign students that were studying in
Australia where 200,000 representing about38% of total D. Education in Emergencies and Lessons from Covid -19
income and by 2019 the number had grown to about In South Africa
330,000accounting for 44% of income and was expected to Landa (2021) undertook a study in South Africa detailing
be growing going forward. The proportion of income lessons which were learnt from Covid-19 as the education
accounted for by foreign students was 38% in 2018 and 44% sector found itself in emergency. They undertook a
in 2019 (Andrew,2020). The global covid-19 pandemic qualitative study which considered strategies which were
came with travel restrictions which had the resultant effect undertaken by two rural institutions of higher learning
of reduced incomes. As if this was not enough, there was a following the lockdown that was declared in South Africa in
strong push to adopt other forms of learning other that face response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The research was
to face interactions. focused on two rural institutions in Eastern Cape
Province.Prior to Covid-19, there were protests over
The key outcomes from the research were revelations accommodation dissatisfaction, institutional management
that institutions were exposed to financial and social risks and student registration exclusion arising from students’
following the pandemic. As a result of Covid-19, the debt. Before the onset of Covid-19, there was already
number of fee-paying foreign students reduced substantially. another disaster of student protests (Ibid, 2021).
The social changes manifested through job losses, mental
strain and health issues, costs of adjustment for learners, The qualitative study of the two institutions in rural
staff and faculty as change to other modes of operation were Eastern Cape aimed at documenting the strategies which
inevitable following the pandemic. Though no specific were employed by the two institutions. Furthermore, there
strategies for survival were expressly recommended, there was need to establish challenges institutions encountered
was a recommendation to strengthen the non-face to face when delivering alternative forms of learning during the
modes of education management and commercialise period of lockdown. Disasters of varying magnitude have
education services. Education leaders were called to rethink been experienced in many parts of the world. Some of such
the traditional ways of managing institutions to survive the disasters include: wars and natural disasters but the Covid-
impact of the pandemic. 19 pandemic was unique and required different interventions
to resolve the associated challenges brought by it(Landa,
C. Covid-19 and Emergent Remote Education in Britain 2021).
Oliveira (2021) did an exploratory study in Britain on the
emergency of remote education experience for tertiary The key findings from the study pointed to the fact that
education learners and educators following the Covid-19 both universities that were used in the study already had
pandemic.The aim of the study was to understand the online presence before the onset of Covid-19. The onset of
educational process, technological tools and personal Covid-19 made institutions to consolidate the remote online
adaptation for students and teachers.Countries have model of learning. However, this sole reliance on remote
experienced disasters such as armed conflicts, hurricanes, education had its own challenges to both learners and
earthquakes and others which affects infrastructure and lecturers. One of the challenges was the battle of using
therefore challenge the conventional forms of learning. technical IT terms anduse of conventional technology
Unlike the above, Covid-19 affected migration and not devices for purposes of teaching without any prior learning
physical infrastructure. The pandemic came so abruptly and about their usage in delivery of learning.The remote
did not prepare institutions for online delivery. Online universities had challenges of internet connectivity and
delivery though a good form of student engagement required access. Furthermore, there were challenges of delivery

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Volume 7, Issue 9, September – 2022 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
online as students and lectures were not very conversant F. Experiences and Perspectives from Covid-19 on
with the usage of ICT in education. It also came out that Leadership for Higher Education Institutions In
rural institutions have much more prominent challenges of Romania
affording the cost of connectivity in as much as the internet Mutlu (2021)did a study on academic leadership in time
connectivity itself is weak (Landa, 2021). The other of covid-19. The study used a case study on University of
challenges brought out by lectures was the difficulty of Romania to establish experiences for academic leaders in
monitoring students as it was difficult to validate that times of crisis. Covid-19 as a crisis necessitated immediate
students did the work on their own. Assessments were much change and required innovative solutions. Among the
more difficult to administer in terms of exams and tests and outcomes of covid-19 were the associated stress and
being sure that there were no malpractices in the process psychological pressure which came with the epidemic to
(Ibid). students and other educational stakeholders. It was also
characterized with ambiguity and lack of information which
E. Enduring the Impacts of Covid-19 by Higher Education would make educational leaders adequately deal with it.
Institutions in Ethiopia Under the above conditions, there was need to create
The higher education sector has been noted as one of the resilient organization. Necessity for fast learning and wise
sectors that have been adversely affected by the pandemic thinking cannot be overemphasized in times of crisis. It
(Wondwosen, 2021). Mixed methods of data gathering were therefore calls for exceptional and competence to be able to
used whereby a diary documenting key events in Ethiopia make decisions in periods of turmoil as was the case of
was done. The other aspect was an online survey where covid-19 (Mutlu, 2021).
questionnaires were sent out to all members of Ethiopian
Private Technical and Vocational Education and Training In the case of academic leadership, there are many
and Higher Education (Ibid). Much of Ethiopian higher layers from the Vice Chancellor to operatives. All this need
education is dominant by private owners or sole proprietors. proper coordination. There are also various aspects of
As regards to education, the pandemic entailed banning of leadership embracing teaching leadership which is
students and teachers meeting except by online means or concerned with issues of pedagogy; research leadership
other interventions which were not a variance with social focusing on production and sharing of knowledge and
distancing which were imposed following the outbreak of strategy embracing aspects of strategy and setting the vision
Covid-19.The impact of the pandemic was more serious on of the institution (Mutlu, 2021).Multiple models were used
private higher education institutions since they did not get in analysing attributes of effective leaders. According to the
grants from government while the public sector institutions model by (Nathanial P., 2020)effective leadership was
were cushioned by government grants. viewed as having four attributes.The first element was
associated with understanding the nature of crisis as the
In addition to financing and performance challenges, starting point in crisis management. The second aspect
there was also another challenge of shifting to online mode involved scanning through the options for mitigating the
of learning. The transition to virtual mode of delivery had its crisis and making viable recommendations from the options.
own challenges such as technical, social and structural. The third aspect wasconcerned with gaining stakeholder buy
Virtual learning demanded students and lecturers being in through effective communication. Finally, it was
equipped with technical skills and the institutions needed to necessary that the recommended strategies were executed as
have infrastructure which often times was not adequate. mere designing of strategies would not yield any results
Furthermore, acquiring infrastructure and getting good (Mutlu, 2021).
connectivity required huge budgets which many private
learning institutions could not afford. Adjusting from face to The researchers referred to other models of academic
face delivery was especially difficult where internet access, leadership (Koehn, 2020) identified four components of
cost, availability of computers supporting technology effective leaders. These included availing clear roles,
coupled with lack of preparation for the pandemic were at concentrating on learning experience, emotional ability and
play. Responding to the pandemic had its toll on expenses acknowledging fear. All the four components needed to be
yet incomes were receding. Furthermore, institutions were given attention to effectively manage in a crisis (Koehn,
expected to keep lecturers and incur other expenses.The 2020). Citing Schwantes (2020), Mutlu (2021) mentioned
pandemic had a net adverse effect on private sector higher four competences which were needed for leading in times of
learning institutions as the pandemic demanded higher crisis. They included: flexibility, accounting for emotions,
expenses without a complimentary income increase accommodating other opinions and gaining stakeholder
(Wondwosen, 2021). engagement (Mutlu, 2021).Dimensions suggested by
(Dirani, 2020) were that leadership should be the sense
maker in a flux. After that, it was necessary that leaders play
the role of technology enhancers. In crisis times, there are
emotional issues which arise and therefore academic
leadership should take centre stage in managing emotions.
As all this is happening there is need for leadership to foster
employee well-being and maintain innovative
communication to ensure that there is collectivism in
managing the crisis (Dirami, 2020; Mutlu, 2021).

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Volume 7, Issue 9, September – 2022 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
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