Abstract:

This paper is a reflection of the experiences that some lecturers at a rural university went through during the hard lockdown in South Africa. The hard lockdown was gradually eased and at one point the country was again put under strict COVID-19 lockdown regulations. All these experiences had an impact on teaching and learning at institutions of higher learning. This study was an explorative qualitative study which focused on lecturers from various departments at one university. Varied responses were obtained from the participants. It was revealed that the period was quite traumatic for most lecturers since it was difficult for them to balance the pressure imposed by COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, online teaching, family and the COVID-19 virus. Most lecturers were ill-prepared when the university abruptly switched to full online teaching and learning. Lecturers revealed that some had limited to no digital skills at all, to teach online, hence, the university announcement that classes were to commence online, brought anxiety to some academics. Transition from face-to-face teaching to online teaching was a bit easier for lecturers who had been blending technology in their teaching. Such lecturers, however, complained that there was little time to prepare for only online lessons and they were overwhelmed with work. The lecturers further revealed that the university announced full online classes before rolling out adequate ICT to the academics and students, such as internet connection and laptops. Hence some students were left behind and the lecturers had to reteach some students, and that created a lot of pressure and some suffered from fatigue and general body aches. As 2020 progressed, most lecturers found their footing in online classes and they continued learning new digital skills from fellow colleagues and from the university support services. There are still lecturers who up to now still struggle to teach online and they use the learning management system (LSM) as a “dumping site”, some only rely on WhatsApp, and the LMS is a no go area.

Keywords:

Higher education, rural university, COVID-19, reflections, lecturers, anxiety.