Education International
revealed that many teachers in less developed contexts were not able to facilitate meaningful teaching and learning without assistance. Even so, responses to the delivery of education were still mandated by education departments globally. Although television and radio were also used as more common tools to facilitate learning, the poor logistical facilitation and lack of financial resources impacted the overall efficacy of these modalities. Despite financial support provided by various states to soften the blow of the economic effects, existing inequalities have increased. The pandemic has set back many LIC and LMIC states financially and crippled economies. An overview of economic policy responses suggests that developed nations are financially able to increase the capacity of hospitals and react more efficiently to the social effects of the pandemic. Wealthier nations are also able to provide aid to poorer nations, but the value of the aid is not sufficient to mitigate the disastrous effects of the pandemic, as that would require large scale financial resources to improve public systems such as health, education and other social services. What remains to be seen is whether the aid directed to schools and other education institutions will remain in a post-pandemic era. Overall, it also remains to be seen whether teaching and learning as we traditionally understand it will be transformed in the journey back to normalcy once the pandemic is over.
3. Effects of COVID-19 on higher education COVID-19 will leave no sector unaffected and although many discussions, interventions and allocation of resources have been focused on learners at primary and secondary school level, the pandemic has also adversely impacted the higher education community. To mitigate the effects of the virus, most higher education institutions globally have ceased face-toface learning as well as other university activities, including sporting and cultural events. These closures have had a number of adverse effects. These include the economic effect on students as well as institutions, the impact on the quality of education delivery, and effects on equity, particularly for foreign students, as discussed below. Firstly, the closure of universities has resulted in financial challenges for most higher education institutions, including the more affluent universities. Rogoff (2020) asserts that “the University of Michigan anticipates a pandemic-induced loss of up to $1 billion by the end of 2020, while Harvard University is projecting a $750 million revenue shortfall for 36
