Policy and planning of pedagogical activities in higher education in the event of an epidemic: examples from African Universities
Abstract
I present a reflection on the potential impact of the current pandemic on higher education in Africa. The main idea is that in all higher education systems, the current crisis will reveal the obstacles as well as the gaps between policy and practice.
However, this may prove to be an opportunity for the future of higher education. Indeed, knowing how to draw lessons not only from the effects of this crisis but also from the reactions identified in African universities will allow those who have had the fewest tools to respond to academic, pedagogical, technical but also social issues, to make the focusing on their shortcomings in order to be able to anticipate future crisis situations but also the inevitable changes in techniques, technologies and teaching approaches.
This study is carried out through a qualitative analysis of the responses adopted in the face of the pandemic in three of the Universities considered to be the most prestigious in Africa according to the 2020 Times Higher Education ranking, namely the University of Cape Town, the University of Witwatersrand and University of Stellenbosch in South Africa.