Post-pandemic Higher Education: Perspectives from University Leaders and Educational Experts in the United Arab Emirates [Scholarly Article - Higher Education for the Future, 2021]

Title:

Post-pandemic Higher Education: Perspectives from University Leaders and Educational Experts in the United Arab Emirates 

 

Authors:

Sanaa Ashour, Ghaleb A. El-Refae & Eman A. Zaitoun

 

Published:

Higher Education for the Future, 21 April 2021

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/23476311211007261

 

Abstract:

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented an opportunity to rethink higher education. This study focused on analysing experiences from three higher education institutions (HEIs) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) since the onset of the crisis and explored how university leaders and professors in these institutions imagine post-COVID-19 higher education. The study aimed to find out whether the pandemic has been a factor that has helped to legitimize online teaching and learning as a universal mode of delivery across different fields of studies, or if the Zoom fatigue has shown its limitations. In addition, the research investigated what transformations university experts predict and their vision for the future of higher education. The study found that many lessons learnt during the period of forced adoption of distance education will be used by universities to enhance and expand online learning provisions. This shift will be driven by the investments the universities have made in distance education and the increased familiarity of the students, staff and institutions with e-learning. The study participants foresee that more sophisticated forms of hybrid campuses will be a more appropriate model for the future, if face-to-face (F2F) classrooms do not return.

 

BBC News, 29 June 2020 - Coronavirus: Ghana 'quack doctors' selling 'cure'

Title of video:
Coronavirus: Ghana 'quack doctors' selling 'cure'

Published:
BBC News, 29 June 2020
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-africa-53199190/coronavirus-ghana-quack-doctors-selling-cure

Description:
An underworld of quack doctors and conmen have been exploiting the coronavirus pandemic and making money selling fake coronavirus cures.

Investigative reporter Anas Aremeyaw Anas goes undercover in Ghana, exposing a Covid-19 scam said to be worth thousands of dollars.

COVID-19: Glimpses of the Impact on the Poor / Poverty

Articles, videos & opinion pieces cover:
* situations in different regions/countries
* different views


GLOBALLY/IN GENERAL

Coronavirus is a devastating blow to children in poverty
Save the Children, 26 March 2020
* COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, is now present in virtually every country on earth. Each at different stages of the pandemic, there is a sense of foreboding that for many, the worst is yet to come. As the number of cases in fragile contexts begins to rise, we are starting to see the impact this will have on the most vulnerable children in all communities across the world. 

COVID-19 and the 5 major threats it poses to global food security
Insight, 30 March 2020
* Today, over 800 million people face chronic undernourishment and over 100 million people are in need of lifesaving food assistance. The novel Coronavirus, COVID-19, risks undermining the efforts of humanitarian and food security organizations seeking to reverse these trends.

Developing countries face economic collapse in COVID-19 fight: UN
Aljazeera, 30 March 2020
* $220bn in lost income; nearly half of all jobs in Africa wiped out; UNDP warns of economic devastation for poor nations.

The coronavirus could topple governments around the world
Foreign Policy, 31 March 2020
* The coronavirus pandemic might not disrupt politics in wealthy Western democracies, but it is likely to unleash political instability—and even regime change—in developing countries already suffering from an economic crisis.


DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD

PART 1: AFRICA

IN GENERAL
Watch: Will Covid-19 soon become a poor man's burden?
IOL, 29 March 2020
* At end of the first day of South Africa’s 21-day lockdown in reaction to the novel coronavirus virus, there was outrage that many people in the country’s poorer areas did not heed the call that they must stay at home in order to reduce infections. Individuals and the media expressed their displeasure and encouraged the police and soldiers to use their power to bring delinquency to an end.  
* What is not clear though Is whether the concern is for the people themselves or it is the usual response from privileged classes that the poor will spread the disease. If this is not guarded, the poor and poverty are going to be scapegoats should the situation get out of control. And as it is the case with everything else, people in Africa will bear the brunt. It is coming!

EGYPT
COVID-19 comes with a high cost to Egyptian economy
The Arab Weekly, 29 March 2020
* “The COVID-19 outbreak is paralysing all sectors of the economy,” said Yumn al-Hamaqi, a professor of economics at Ain Shams University.

NIGERIA
Nigeria's north: Coronavirus in the world's poverty capital
The Africa Report, 26 March 2020
* To date, there has been no confirmed cases of coronavirus in Northern Nigeria.  
* But the North accounts for almost 90 per cent of all the poor people in Nigeria. Only 24 percent of households have access to basic services such as electricity, water and sanitation. Compounded with that is the fact that about ten million children remain out of school and roam the streets begging as part of an Almajiri system of religious education.  
* An outbreak in the region will be catastrophic.

SOUTH AFRICA
Covid-19: Central Bank must print more money for the poor - expert
Power, 1 April 2020
* In the midst of the Covid-19 lockdown, businesses are going under, people are going to lose jobs and the unemployed and vulnerable will bear the greatest brunt of the strain.  
* This has prompted academics and economists to sound a clarion call to the government to relieve the poor and vulnerable with R1000 grants.

Covid-19: Redirect consumption from the rich to the poor to avert a humanitarian crisis
Mail & Guardian, 31 March 2020
* South African survey data suggest that eight million workers are not registered with the Unemployment Insurance Fund. As a consequence, under the lockdown, these workers will lose much of their income and, in turn, will not be able to sustain the basic needs of an additional 13-million household members they directly support.

The biggest battle we face apart from COVID-19 is poverty
Activate, 31 March 2020
* For many households, getting water continues to stretch budgets and create stress – R20 used to cover more than a week supply of water (20-25 litre of bucket cost over R20) but with the growing anxiety and municipal trucks unable to deliver water daily, the struggle seems to continue.

Zandspruit on Covid-19: Life goes on no one cares for us (video)
Eyewitness News, 29 March 2020
* There's nothing enjoyable about staying in a small roomed structure made of corrugated iron for 21-days while left in despair about how you're going to pay the next month's rent. This is the reality for many South Africans living in informal settlements.

UGANDA
Shutdown in Uganda over COVID-19 hits poor hard
AA, 1 April 2020
* Times tough not only due to fears of infection but also because of poverty, says shop owner.


PART 2: ASIA

IN GENERAL
East Asia and Pacific: Countries Must Act Now to Mitigate Economic Shock of COVID-19
The World Bank, 30 March 2020
* Developing economies in East Asia and the Pacific (EAP), recovering from trade tensions and struggling with COVID-19, now face the prospect of a global financial shock and recession.

Mitigating the impact of COVID-19: Poverty and food insecurity in the Arab region
Reliefweb, 1 April 2020
* An additional 8.3 million people will fall into poverty in the Arab region, according to a new policy brief issued today by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) on the impact of COVID-19.

The Coronavirus pandemic could force Asia below the poverty line
Industry Global News, 1 April 2020
* The world on the brink of extinction may not be the case likely but a world that is on the verge of poverty is not exaggerated. According to a report released by the World Bank on March 31, the economic fallout of the pandemic could usher in poverty to an estimated 11 million people.

CHINA
China’s poorest pay the price of coronavirus outbreak
Financial Times, 15 March 2020
* Data suggest that the coronavirus outbreak, which has infected more than 80,000 people in China, is being brought under control. However, months of restrictions on travel, work and daily life are putting enormous pressure on families at the margins of Chinese society.

INDIA
1.3 billion people. A 21-day lockdown. Can India curb the coronavirus?
Science, 31 March 2020
* Modi’s lockdown had social and economic impacts even sharper than lockdowns in richer countries. Millions of Indians who depend on each day’s wages for their daily meal were thrown out of work. Migrant workers packed buses and trains home, potentially taking the virus into rural areas. And as transport options dried up, many families in New Delhi and other major cities simply began to walk to their distant villages, with little access to food.

Coronavirus lockdown leaves India's poor jobless and struggling to eat
IOL, 26 March 2020
* Some of India's legions of poor and people suddenly thrown out of work by a nationwide stay-at-home order began receiving aid distribution Thursday, as both the public and private sector work to blunt the impact of efforts to curb the coronavirus pandemic.

India: World's biggest Covid-19 lockdown leaves poor starving (video)
ABC News, 28 Marc 2020
* There are fears that the world's biggest lockdown in India could leave millions of the poor to starve and die. 

LEBANON
COVID-19: Almost half of Lebanon now lives below poverty line
Aljazeera, 1 April 2020
* Lebanon's cabinet has approved financial aid for low-income families as pandemic deepens what was already the country's worst economic crisis in decades.

PHILIPPINES

Coronavirus restrictions: Philippine poor suffer after closures (video)

Aljazeera, 31 March 2020

* The Philippines's most populous island, Luzon has been under quarantine for two weeks.  That has left many of its poor unable to go out and work. And they have little in the way of a social safety net or savings to protect them.

PART 3: EUROPE

ITALY
Italy issues foodstamps as coronavirus threatens millions with poverty
The Times, 29 March 2020
* Italy will distribute €400 million in food stamps as fears grow of social unrest triggered by rising poverty during the country’s coronavirus lockdown.

SPAIN
Poor and vulnerable hardest hit by pandemic in Spain
The Guardian, 1 April 2020
* Rate of infection in less affluent neighbourhoods near Barcelona is nearly seven times higher than in upmarket areas.
* The coronavirus pandemic in Spain is taking a disproportionate toll on the poor, the elderly, the marginalised and those working in low-paid but vital jobs, experts have warned.

UNITED KINGDOM
Telegraph Coronavirus Appeal: To get through this crisis, the poorest need hard cash for basics now
The Telegraph, 28 March 2020
* Fourteen million people live in poverty in the UK. That figure – shocking enough – was before Covid-19 turned so many peoples’ finances upside down. In the coming weeks, it will rise exponentially due to sickness and job loss. Already there is talk of more than one million unemployed and that is just the start.


PART 4: OCEANIA

AUSTRALIA
Coronavirus Could Push More Australian Women Into Poverty, Experts Say
Global Citizen, 1 April 2020
* CEO of YWCA Australia Michelle Phillips has warned the Australian government that its initiative for tax-free withdrawal from superannuation savings could push women into poverty and homelessness. Instead of leaving at-risk women with no other option but to draw on their small retirement funds, YWCA has called for distinct funds to be made available. 

NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand's coronavirus stimulus leaves the working poor most exposed
The Guardian, 17 March 2020
* The downturn is going to cause economic chaos, and it will see job losses.


PART 5: THE CARIBBEAN, CENTRAL AMERICA, NORTH AMERICA & SOUTH AMERICA

CANADA
PM Trudeau on poverty reduction, COVID-19, rail blockades (video)
cpac, 5 March 2020
* Prime Minister Justin Trudeau holds a news conference in Toronto after visiting the Boys and Girls Club of East Scarborough to highlight his government's poverty-reduction measures. 

LATIN AMERICA
Coronavirus hits rich and poor unequally in Latin America
APNews, 30 March 2020
* From Mexico City to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and Santiago, Chile, the coronavirus is taking root in the world’s most unequal region, where many of Latin America’s first cases arrived with members of the elite returning from vacations or work trips to Europe and the United States.  
* Many of the wealthy are already recovering, but experts warn that the virus could kill scores of the poorest people, who must work every day to feed their families, live in unsanitary conditions and lack proper medical care. Some countries are making payments to informal workers — maids, street sellers and others who have been told to stay home to reduce the spread of the virus, but the effort is patchwork and doesn’t apply to everyone who needs help.

MEXICO
COVID-19 leaves migrants in limbo near the U.S.-Mexico border (video)
CGTN America, 26 March 2020
* Migrants are living in limbo near the U.S.-Mexico border. The new reality is putting pressure on the Mexican city of Tijuana and its already stressed population. 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Americans struggle with job losses amid virus (video)
Associated Press, 19 March 2020
* A growing number of Americans are suddenly losing their jobs as the coronavirus shuts down industries, businesses and schools.

U-M’s Poverty Solutions releases Michigan COVID-19 Pandemic Resource Guide
Michigan News, 27 March 2020
* A new Michigan COVID-19 Pandemic Resource Guide provides information on how to access various resources aimed at supporting Michiganders through the coronavirus pandemic and related economic slowdown.  
* While everyone is affected by the restrictions on public gatherings, business closures and public health concerns, it is low-wage hourly workers, people with little savings or disposable income and people living in poverty who will have the most difficult time weathering the economic disruption accompanying the COVID-19 crisis, says H. Luke Shaefer, founding director of Poverty Solutions and a professor of social work and public policy at the University of Michigan.

ISRAEL - The sound of coronavirus: Israeli apps helping contain pandemic

Title:
The sound of coronavirus: Israeli apps helping contain pandemic

Authors:
Guillaume Lavallee & Jonah Mandel

Published:
Medical Xpress, 31 March 2020

From the article:
"One app tells you if you've been in the vicinity of a coronavirus carrier and another aims to assess whether you have COVID-19 based on the sound of your voice."

To read this article:
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-03-coronavirus-israeli-apps-pandemic.html

University World News - Five years to recover global mobility, says IHE expert

Title:
Five years to recover global mobility, says IHE expert

Author:
Nic Mitchell

Published:
University World News, 26 March 2020

From the article:
Speaking to the online International Higher Education Forum 2020 organised by Universities UK, and for which University World News is a media partner, Marginson said: “International higher education is going to take a massive hit” – with the pandemic expected to last longer in Europe and North America “because of the need to flatten the curve and minimise the casualties” than in East Asian countries which handled the coronavirus differently at the outset.

To read this article:
https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200326180104407

Short Article - An opportunity to change international higher education?

Title:
An opportunity to change international higher education?

Author:
Kalyani Unkule

Published:
University World News, 21 March 2020

From this article:
The COVID-19 epidemic has struck a blow to physical mobility worldwide. Notices about institutional closures, social distancing and self-quarantining have compelled us all to part ways with our established routines, in one way or another. This could, however, be an opportunity to re-examine higher education internationalisation, including its objectives, scope, strategies and intended impact.

To read this article:
https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200318145041997

Glimpses of the Coronavirus Outbreak - different views (information items from 24 - 26 March 2020)

This post includes a variety of information items, such as news articles, videos, as well as opinion pieces. These items represent different viewpoints.  

Please do your own fact-checking.   


24 MARCH 2020  

...And Now the GOOD NEWS! || Episode 37 || Chinese Send Italy Masks, Canadians Start A Caremongering Campaign (video) 
Robert Brzezinski, 24 March 2020 
Focus: General 
* JOANN Fabrics Gives Away Mask Making Supplies, US Businesses Giving Away Toilet Paper, Medical Dramas Donating TV Medical Supplies to Hospitals, IKEA Discovers Lost Medical Masks - Donates to Local University.   

As the Coronavirus Approaches, Mexico Looks the Other Way (video)
The Dispatch, 24 March 2020
Focus: Mexico
* “This is going to be as bad as Italy or worse.” As much of the world shuts down amid the worsening coronavirus pandemic, Mexico City’s streets are bustling and the country’s president insists on calm.

Coronavirus en Paraguay: Dos menores en el grupo de contagiados (video)
SNT Paraguay, 24 March 2020
Focus: Paraguay
* Estas son las muestras numéricas de las personas contagiadas por el COVID-19, entre ellos se encuentran menores de 18 años.

Coronavirus: Guyanese pleading with health authorities for daily updates
St Lucia News, 24 March 2020
Focus: Guyana
* With Guyana having confirmed five cases with one death, the Ministry has only held two press conferences to address the pandemic – March 11 and March 17.

Coronavirus outbreak: This is what cities across Canada look like during the COVID-19 pandemic
Global News, 24 March 2020
Focus: Canada
* Global News filmed cities across Canada as the novel coronavirus outbreak continues to spread. In the midst of social distancing measures, streets and public spaces were largely empty.

Egypt imposes nighttime curfew to slow coronavirus 
Aljazeera, 24 March 2020
Focus: Egypt
* Nationwide two-week curfew from 7pm to 6am will begin on Wednesday, as closure of schools and universities is extended.

Europe must act to stop coronavirus outbreak in Lesbos, say MEPs (video)
Euronews, 24 March 2020
Focus: Greece
* NGOs and MEPs are calling on the EU to act to prevent an outbreak of novel coronavirus in overcrowded camps in Greece.

Italy's death toll falls for the second consecutive day | Coronavirus Update (video) 
DW News, 24 March 2020

Focus: Italy
* Official Coronavirus figures from Italy offer a glimmer of hope that lockdown measures introduced two weeks ago have slowed the spread of the virus.

Namibia announces travel ban, partial lockdown after seventh coronavirus case
Reuters via IOL, 24 March 2020
Focus: Namibia
* Health Minister Kalumbi Shangula announced on Tuesday that travel into Namibia from all countries is banned with immediate effect for a period of 30 days after the Southwest African country recorded its seventh confirmed case of coronavirus.

TB, HIV and COVID-19: urgent questions as three epidemics collide
The Conversation, 24 March 2020
Focus: South Africa
* Tuberculosis (TB) and HIV pose a significant burden on South Africa’s health system. There’s a close relationship between the two. About 60% of TB patients are also HIV-positive. The novel coronavirus (Sars-CoV-2) is likely to be of particular concern for communities with high rates of TB and HIV. Sars-CoV-2 and its resulting disease (COVID-19) haven’t been fully researched and understood yet. But speculation based on the behaviour of other viruses and chronic illnesses raises concerns that HIV and TB patients may have a higher risk of developing severe disease. Emily Wong answers some questions.


25 MARCH 2020

Coronavirus cases in Africa pass 2,400 amid fears for health services
The Guardian, 25 March 2020
Focus: Africa
* There are now more than 2,400 confirmed cases of Covid-19 across Africa and growing warnings that the pandemic will cause major challenges for the continent’s under-resourced health services.

Coronavirus deals blow to Putin's plans to stay in power until 2036
CNN, 25 March 2020
Focus: Russia
* Russian President Vladimir Putin has long provided other world leaders with a template for authoritarian rule. Now he faces a new test: Whether his top-down system can survive the coronavirus pandemic.

Coronavirus: Iran bans internal travel to avert 'second wave'
BBC News, 25 March 2020
Focus: Iran
* Iran's government has banned internal travel and warned of a "second wave" of its coronavirus disease outbreak, as the official death toll passed 2,000.
* Spokesman Ali Rabiei lamented that some people had ignored advice and travelled during the Nowruz new year holidays.

Coronavirus is Straining Hospitals. Here's How Innovators Are Helping (video)
The New York Times News, 25 March 2020
Focus: United States of America
* Health care workers are facing a serious shortage of critical equipment needed to treat the coronavirus. We spoke to the makers who are building innovative protective gear and ventilators for them.

Coronavirus: ‘Many thousands of Covid-19 cases’ across NI
BBC News, 25 March 2020
Focus: Northern Ireland
* There are "many thousands" of Covid-19 cases across Northern Ireland, Michael McBride, the chief medical officer, has said.  
* At Stormont's daily briefing, Dr McBride warned that the spread of coronavirus is a lot wider than statistics indicate.

Coronavirus Pandemic: Ole Solvang, Norwegian Refugee Council (video)
TRT World Now, 25 March 2020
Focus: Norwegian Refugee Council (different countries)
* Ole Solvang of the Norwegian Refugee Council explains how coronavirus restrictions are preventing hundreds of thousands of refugees and displaced people from accessing its aid. 

France coronavirus death toll jumps 240 to 1,100: official
East Coast Radio, 25 March 2020
Focus: France
* Jerome Salomon told reporters that 22,300 people had tested positive for the virus in France, with a total of 10,176 hospitalised of whom 2,516 people are in intensive care. 
* Officials believe that the published number of those infected largely underestimates the real figure, as only those showing severe symptoms are usually tested.

Ill man makes plea for public to take coronavirus seriously
Guardian News, 25 March 2020
Focus: United Kingdom, Personal account
* A 51-year-old man suspected of having coronavirus has made an emotional plea for the public to take Covid-19 seriously. Gasping for breath and struggling to speak, Andy Hardwick says he has been floored by it. 'I wouldn't wish it on my enemy,' he says. 'My spine hurts, my back hurts. You don't want to talk, you get shortness of breath if you move around.'

India struggles with coronavirus shutdown; Pakistan cases top 1,000
Reuters, 25 March 2020
Focus: India
* Reuters photographers witnessed several cases of Indian police officers hitting people out on the street with sticks. One rickshaw driver, who showed bruises on his calf, said he was defying the lockdown because he was unable to feed his four children otherwise.

Inside new makeshift temporary coronavirus hospital at ExCel Centre (video)
The Telegraph, 25 March 2020
Focus: United Kingdom (London)
* A new 4,000 bed field hospital to treat coronavirus patients will be functioning as of next week, the Health Secretary has announced.

Pakistan daily wagers struggle to survive in coronavirus lockdown
Aljazeera, 25 March 2020
Focus: Pakistan
* Daily wage workers and poor face hunger as authorities in Pakistan impose lockdown to check the spread of COVID-19.

Sudan frees thousands of prisoners over coronavirus fears

News24, 25 March 2020

Focus: Sudan
* Authorities in Sudan have ordered the release of thousands of prisoners to prevent the novel coronavirus from spreading in the country's jails, state media reported Wednesday.

Thailand to Impose Broad Lockdown to Fight Novel Coronaviru
Bloomberg, 25 March 2020
Focus: Thailand
* Thailand will become the latest country to go into a broad lockdown when a state of emergency is enforced from Thursday to fight the spread of the novel coronavirus.

What the numbers say about coronavirus in South Africa

BusinessTech, 25 Marc 2020

Focus: South Africa

* The number of confirmed Covid-19 coronavirus infections in South Africa climbed 28% to 709 by late Tuesday, with zero fatalities to date, although two patients are in Intensive Care, according to the latest figures from the government.

26 MARCH 2020

Coronavirus: Life and death in Bergamo (video)

Sky News, 26 March 2020

Focus: Italy

* Stuart Ramsay speaks to the residents of Bergamo about life in their ‘apocalyptic’ town.

Covid-19: SolGold reduces Ecuador operations amid national lockdown
Mining Technology, 26 March 2020
Focus: Ecuador
* SolGold has announced it has reduced operations across Ecuador, following the “stay at home” policy announced by the Emergency Operations Committee (COE) in the country.

Gov't panel says coronavirus infections feared "rampant" in Japan

Kyodo News, 26 March 2020

Focus: Japan

* A government panel of experts on Thursday said new-coronavirus infections in Japan appear highly likely to be "rampant," an assessment paving the way for the launch of a national headquarters to better respond to the outbreak.

Mali on lockdown as first coronavirus cases reported, but parliamentary elections to go ahead

France24, 26 March 2020

Focus: Mali

* Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita announced a nationwide night-time curfew on Wednesday to limit the spread of coronavirus, but said a parliamentary vote planned for this week will go ahead. 

* Freight will still be allowed into the West African state, he said, and markets will remain open.

South African-based Facebook groups stoked coronavirus fears to sell face masks (article includes videos on different aspects of the lockdown)

News24, 26 March 2020

Focus: South Africa

* A Facebook page linked to Cape Town-based digital marketing firm Fansgate created at least 33 groups between January and March that leveraged fears around the coronavirus to build their respective audiences, a DFRLab investigation has found.

Tucker: Why are media pundits trying to discredit hydroxychloroquine? (video)

Fox News, 26 March 2020

Focus: United States of America

* If President Trump is for it, the media is against it, even if it might save American lives. 

HEPI (Higher Education Policy Institute) Blog - Universities will be changed forever by the Coronavirus crisis – and its aftermath

Title:
Universities will be changed forever by the Coronavirus crisis – and its aftermath

Author:
Anthony Seldon, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Buckingham

Published:
HEPI (Higher Education Policy Institute) Blog, 23 March 2020

From the article:
Universities will be changed forever by the Coronavirus crisis and its aftermath. A welcome harbinger has been a greater sense of unity and collective mission among universities than at any point in recent – sometimes – difficult years, and indeed for years before. Universities UK has emerged as a strong sector leader, with the voice of Alistair Jarvis clearly articulating the HE sector’s interest – and contribution – to government and across the media.

To read this article:
https://www.hepi.ac.uk/2020/03/23/universities-will-be-changed-forever-by-the-coronavirus-crisis-and-its-aftermath/