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The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Education:
Navigating Forward the Pedagogy of Blended Learning
Ngogi Emmanuel Mahaye
Director: Office of the MEC for Education
Member of KwaZulu-Natal COVID-19 Provincial Curriculum and Assessment Committee
Member of KwaZulu-Natal Provincial COVID-19 Health and Safety MEC Advisory Committee
Department of Education
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Contact email: Ngogi.Mahaye@kzndoe.gov.za.
mahayengogi4.@gmail.com.
Navigating Forward the Pedagogy of Blended Learning
Ngogi Emmanuel Mahaye 23 April 2020 Page 2
Abstract
Social distancing is being enforced in over 109 countries across the world in response to Covid-
19 pandemic. The implementation of social distancing has led to temporal closure of schools
both regionally and locally in all these countries. To avoid total curriculum disruption while
Covid-19 pandemic lasted, some governments had introduced technology-based pedagogy to
ensure that learners have access to learning materials while staying homes. Blended learning is a
technology-based teaching system that integrates face-to-face teaching approach with online
learning system. This paper reviewed the applicability of Blended learning in academic recovery
during disease outbreak. This paper also sought to position the entire nation on a new reality and
its application of a new worldwide paradigm. We will never set ourselves back to the normal
frame of reference. Such new paradigm shift brought by novel COVID-19 juxtaposes systems in
curriculum transformation and reform as it yielded how people view the world and construct new
meaning in their life. There must be a new alignment and Blended Learning leading the pact. It
was observed that Blended Learning enhanced learning regardless of distance and can be
effectively implemented during disease outbreak such as Coronavirus pandemic. It was also
observed that the system can only be effectively implemented in a digitally developed society. It
was concluded that Blended learning can be implemented in South Africa‟s Educational system
but rural schools would not benefit much from the programme due to lack of some basic
amenities and technology in rural communities. It was recommended that digital equipment need
to be installed in all public schools to ensure equitable accessibility of technology-based learning
by all learners in South Africa.
Keywords: blended learning; COVID-19; curriculum; pedagogy; technology-based.
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Ngogi Emmanuel Mahaye 23 April 2020 Page 3
1 Introduction
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a disease that is caused by a new severe acute respiratory
syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Diseases such as the severe acute respiratory syndrome
(SARS) and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) reported in 2002 and 2012
respectively were caused by viruses similar to SARS-CoV-2. However, SARS-CoV-2 has a
wider spectrum than the previously reported similar viruses and therefore the difficulty in the
treatment and management of COVID-19. Medical diagnoses and researches have shown that
persons infected with COVID-19 can be symptomatic or asymptomatic in the early stages of
infection depending on the individual‟s immune system. It is reported that symptoms of the
disease include dry cough, fever, tiredness, shortness of breath, headache and general body
weakness due to inducement of other ailments in the body (Zhong, et al., 2020). The novelty of
SARS-CoV-2 and its recondite genetic nature result to difficulty in treatment of COVID-19 and
the development of preventive vaccines.
COVID-19 was first reported in the city of Wuhan, China in 2019 and has continued to ravage
the whole world since then. On 11th of March 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO)
declared COVID-19 a pandemic based on the rate at which it was spreading and devastating
human lives around the world. As of 23 April 2020, about 2 million people have been confirmed
to be infected with the disease across the world with more than 182 000 confirmed deaths related
to the disease.
South Africa reported its first confirmed case of COVID-19 on 5 March 2020 and about a month
later (5 April 2020), the number of confirmed cases increased to 1585. As of 23 April 2020, the
number of confirmed cases in South Africa rose to 3953 with 75 related deaths. Researchers
believe that Coronavirus is transmitted through droplets from an infected person. When such
droplets fall on surfaces and someone comes in contact with it, mostly with the hand and
thereafter touches the nose or the mouth with the hand, such a person would be infected with the
virus. Consequently, medical experts postulate that social distancing remains the best way to
contain the spread of the virus. Governments all over the world, including South African
government implemented lockdown in their various countries based on the severity of the
pandemic to ensure that its spreading is contained and the curve flattened.
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The government of South Africa has implemented a strict country-wide lockdown in order to
flatten the curve and consequently contain the spread of the Coronavirus. Fowler et al. (2020)
reports that lockdown is effective in curbing the spread of COVID-19, but it has huge impact on
the economy. Lockdown entails that businesses are closed and jobs are suspended (except those
considered as essential services) and schools are also closed. However, Viner et al. (2020) report
that there is no currently available model or empirically-based report that shows positive
correlation between closure of schools and curbing of the spread of COVID-19.
All educational institutions in South Africa have been temporarily shut down to contain the
spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The question has been how learners would be able to make
up for the period of lockdown since educational systems in the country are structured with
definitive calendars. Alternative methods of teaching such as Blended Learning can be a useful
means to ensure learners‟ access to learning activities during the period of national lockdown.
This paper is designed to critical analyse the impact of COVID-19 on the South African
education sector and the possibility of integrating Blended Learning in the school curriculum.
2 The Impact of COVID-19 on Education
COVID-19 pandemic has resulted to total closure of schools in about 192 countries all over the
world with 91.4% of the total number of enrolled learners in these countries temporarily forced
out of school (UNESCO, 2020). It is reported that over 1.6 billion learners across the world are
currently compelled to stay out of schools as social distancing is being enforced locally and
regionally around the world in order to contain the spread of Coronavirus disease. Report shows
that lockdown of schools is more prominent in some continents such as Africa, South America
and in some parts of Europe (UNESCO, 2020). It can be visualized from Figure 1 that Africa and
South America are the continents which educational systems have been mostly affected by the
pandemic as more that 98% of teaching and learning cannot be conducted due to country-wide
lockdown in these continents. The closure of schools in North America, Australia and Northern
Europe is relatively lower when compared to other parts of the world and this can be attributed to
the fact that lockdown of schools is only effective in localized areas where the spread of the
disease is more prevalent.
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Besides pharmaceutical interventions and other preventive measures, social distancing has been
the most effective way of minimizing the spread of COVID-19. The effective implementation of
social distancing demands that schools be closed for as long as each government is certain that
the pandemic has been curtailed enough for the safety of learners and teachers.
Long periods of learning would be lost for as long as the closures lasted. Kekić et al. (2016)
reports that schools losing long periods of learning due to disease outbreak can result to both
temporal and permanent damage on educational system. The temporal damage include disruption
of curriculum which could take a long time to be recovered while the permanent damage include
the fact that some learners may never return to school even when the disease outbreak is ended.
Though the confirmed cases of COVID-19 and related deaths in African countries have been low
compared to other continents, it is envisaged that the education of an African child would be the
most affected post COVID-19 era due to economic and technological backwardness of most
African countries (UNESCO, 2020).
Figure 1: Closure of schools across the world (UNESCO, 2020)
Over 209 million learners in Africa have been affected by COVID-19 pandemic (UNESCO,
2020). African continent is therefore the second most affected continent in the world after Asia
that has over 590 million affected children (Figure 2).
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Ngogi Emmanuel Mahaye 23 April 2020 Page 6
Figure 2: Distribution of learners out of school due to COVID-19
African countries where schools have been locked down in order to enforce social distancing
and the number of affected learners are presented in Figure 3 and Table 1 respectively.
Figure 3: Number of learners Affected by COVID-19 across Africa
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Ngogi Emmanuel Mahaye 23 April 2020 Page 7
Table 1: Affected Learners most Countries of Africa
South Africa has the fourth largest number of learners affected by COVID-19 in Africa.
Country-wide lockdown was implemented in South Africa on the midnight of Thursday 26
March 2020 and has resulted to over 14 million learners in the country being temporarily out of
school. It is reported that over 13 million learners who are enrolled in schools from pre-primary
to high school are affected while over 1.1 million students enrolled in tertiary institutions have
been affected (UNESCO, 2020).
Schools in South Africa were already on holiday by the time lockdown became effective in the
country but however, the department of education had previously designed academic
intervention programmess to be implemented during the holiday. Such programmess were
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Ngogi Emmanuel Mahaye 23 April 2020 Page 8
usually planned such that classes would be conducted in schools during school holidays and even
on weekends. The rules and regulation for social distancing therefore cannot allow the
Department of Education implement the pre-designed holiday school programmes as schools are
mandatorily closed. Report shows that Coronavirus pandemic had not peaked in South Africa
and the curve had not flattened resulting to extension of lockdown to 30 April 2020. The minister
of Health also announced that the predicted (modelled) rate of transmission revealed that the
pandemic might take a while to be controlled. This entails that schools may not reopen in the
foreseeable future.
If the nationwide lockdown is lifted on 30 April 2020 and schools are allowed to reopen
immediately, schools would have lost 23 schooldays, 6 weeks of curriculum coverage and 161
hours of teaching and learning. The implication is that about 14% of annual school curriculum
coverage for 2020 would be lost as result of COVID-19 pandemic. It can be visualized in Figure
4 how much the devastating pandemic would have excised from 2020 school curriculum by the
end of 30 April 2020.
Figure 4: Impact of COVID-19 on school curriculum (If Schools reopening on 06 .05.2020)
Due to the uncertainties surrounding the containment of COVID-19 in South Africa and across
the world, it is envisaged that social distancing could still be implemented beyond 30 April 2020
in South Africa. The department of education has postulated a gradual reopening of schools
which it has described as “Phasing in Approach” (HEDCOM, 2020). The “Phasing in Approach”
was designed to reopen schools in phases as illustrated in Table 2.
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Table 2: Phasing in Approach for reopening of schools (Source: HEDCOM, 2020)
Previously conducted research on recovery after outbreaks suggests that such practices as social
distancing during outbreaks tend to continue even after the outbreak (Kekić and Miladinović,
2016). Social cohesion post outbreak era takes time to become normal. Therefore, social
cohesion would still affect teaching and learning post COVID-19 era. Teachers and learners
would not dispel off social distancing immediately and fear would definitely prevent leaners
from interacting with each other. This situation would have negative impact on immediate
curriculum recovery.
3 Blended Learning: Academic Approach during and post Lockdown
Blended learning is a concept that was developed in the early 1960‟s and has evolved to different
approaches that are widely practiced in educational systems all over the world. Blending is a
word that connotes the combination of different components into a whole new structure and
consequently formed the basis for the conceptualization of blended learning (Dziuban et al.,
2018). Blended learning can be described as the integration of the conventional face-to-face
learning method with digital or online learning method (Dziuban et al., 2018; Hrastinski, 2019).
Researchers could not report a generally accepted definition of Blended Learning because it was
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Ngogi Emmanuel Mahaye 23 April 2020 Page 10
considered a concept that depends on its application or on circumstances that surround its
application. However, the two most widely accepted definitions were given by Graham (2006)
and, Garrison and Kanuka (2004). Graham (2006:5) defines Blended learning as “systems that
combine face-to-face instruction with computer-mediated instruction”. Based on this definition,
Blended Learning must be conducted within the four walls of a school since face-to-face
instruction forms a component of the system. Students and teachers are involved and must then
come together in brick-and mortar schools. Similarly, Garrison and Kanuka (2004:96) define
blended learning as “the thoughtful integration of classroom face-to-face learning experiences
with online learning experiences”. It can be gleaned from both definitions that face-to-face
learning and online learning are the components of Blended Learning.
Pedagogical approaches that are based on curriculum containing Blended Learning or that
implement Blended Learning as conceptualized by Graham (2006) and Garrison and Kanuka
(2004) need to critically appraise the differences in both definitions. Though face-to-face
instruction and online instruction are pivotal in both, Garrison and Kanuka (2004) highlighted
that there should be a thoughtful integration of methods of learning. Their opinion is that
decision makers must critically analyse the practicality of integrating both online learning and
face-to-face learning with respect to existing curriculum, resources, inter alia, before
implementation of Blended Learning. Graham‟s (2006) definition applies computer-based
learning while Garrison and Kanuka‟s (2004) definition applies online learning. (Hrastinski,
2019) observes that both computer-based and online based learning can be considered
synonymous as computer-based learning in schools requires online services and online services
in schools cannot be effectively implemented without computers.
The advent of Information Communication Technology (ICT) and its applicability in
pedagogical approaches has been considered a gateway to wider curriculum coverage (Dziuban
et al., 2018). ICT or specialized artificial intelligence has made it easier for governments to adopt
Blended Learning in schools‟ curriculum. Factors such as diseases outbreak, distance and other
factors can limit students‟ or learners‟ access to education. Limited access to education is one of
the challenges of education that Blended Learning was developed to address and therefore
teaching by Blended Learning does not seek to supplement some aspects of normal classroom
instructions but rather to completely replace them (Graham et al., 2013). The meaning of
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Blended learning can therefore be summarized as all forms of teaching and learning that combine
the conventional face-to-face classroom method of instruction with online system of learning,
making use of information communication technology-facilitated learning in situations where the
learners and teachers are sometimes separated by distance (Siemens et al., 2015). Every
academic intervention or recovery strategy that combines appropriate teaching and learning
methods with technology or online resources to provide dynamic learning experiences and the
actualization of the goals of education can be described as Blended Learning (Mirriahi et al.,
2015).
3.1 The Demand of Blended Learning in Curriculum Implementation
Implementation is a method of acting on an established plan, decision, proposal, idea or policy
in order to achieve set objectives. Hence, curriculum implementation includes the provision of
organized assistance to teachers in order to ensure that a newly developed curriculum and the
most powerful learning strategies are actually delivered at the classroom level within a specified
time. Nnabuike et al., (2016) Report that curriculum encompasses all learning experiences a
child undergoes under the guidance of a teacher. Curriculum is a programme which is made up
of three components: programme of studies, programme of activities and programme of
guidance. These three programs are mutually exclusive and time dependent. Curriculum is the
driver of every educational system and its effective implementation determines the actualization
of the goals of education of any country.
Curriculum implementation can be disrupted by a number of factors which include natural
disaster, pandemic, wars, among other things. COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted curriculum
implementation all over the world since December 2019 until now. Education in South Africa
has been greatly affected by the pandemic and as a matter of fact, it is projected that the country
could lose up to 25 weeks of curriculum coverage as a result of the pandemic. The lockdown of
schools necessitated by the need to curtail the spread of COVID-19 should not completely deny
learners access to learning. Curriculum therefore needs an avenue where teachers can continue to
dispense teaching or instructions to learners appropriately, flexibly, effectively and without
limitations (Onwusuru and Ogwo, 2019).
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Curriculum implementation in a time like COVID-19 greatly require an approach like Blended
learning whereby teaching can be conducted through computer-based learning. Blended
Learning is a context-dependent system (Hrastinski, 2019). Its design and implementation should
be a function of the scenario where it is needed. The accessibility of ICT has made it possible for
individuals to access teaching or instructional materials from online irrespective of distance.
Education should not cease because the country is under lockdown. Blended Learning can be
implemented by the government to reduce the percentage of school curriculum that would
potentially be lost due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Blended Learning can be considered as virtual learning and it is widely applicable in curriculum
implementation in situations where participants are separated by distance (Onwusuru and Ogwo,
2019). In virtual learning, educators can use computer-generated classrooms to teach learners
with the use of online tools enabling continuation of classes while government‟s rules and
regulations on social distancing are still observed. However, teachers and learners need proper
training on computer-based instruction before it can be effectively implemented as teaching
methods.
4 The Impact of Technology on Teachers and Learners
There has been a paradigm shift from traditional pedagogical method to technology based
teaching and learning. The era when teachers depended on printed instructional materials has
shifted to a technology era where classrooms are not only constituted of brick-and-mortar but
rather integrated with virtual platforms (Wikramanayake, 2014). The use of technology in
teaching and learning has be widely researched and many authors believe that technology can
play vital roles in education ((Onwusuru and Ogwo, 2019; Hrastinski, 2019; Higgins, 2012).
Traditional method of chalk-and-board teaching requires that participants must be present in
classrooms where teaching is restricted to textbooks and teachers‟ notes but the advent of
technology has created new avenues where teachers and learners can access from online vast
learning materials regardless of distance (Wikramanayake, 2005; Mirriahi et al., 2015).
In a country such as South Africa where majority of schools are located in rural areas, many
learners in the rural areas are less privileged in terms of access to quality education ((Du Plessis,
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2014). Rural schools do not always have infrastructure and their socioeconomic conditions make
them unattractive to the best teachers. A major impact of Technology is that it can be used to
enhance access to information and improve learning standard in the rural schools. Teachers need
to be trained on how to use computer-based learning and this would enable them provide learners
with unlimited access to online materials irrespective distance. Bester and Brand (2013) reports
that learners possess the ability to reconnoiter new information; build new knowledge and relate
new information to real life situations which can result to maximal learning achievement if the
environment of study is technology-rich. Information gleaned from literature shows that
technology can affect pedagogy in the following ways highlighted below:
Provides teachers access to vast resources
Provides learners access to limitless learning resources that can boost learners
competence and confidence
Teachers and learners can conduct learning form wherever they are without the
traditional demand of coming together
It enhances collaborative interaction between teachers and learners which improves
learners‟ confidence and performance
Immediate feedback of assessment is reported to learners
Teachers function as facilitators while learners are allowed to construct their own
knowledge in a participatory manner (Wikramanayake, 2005; Khan et al., 2012).
4.1 Blended Learning for Independent Study
Students‟ demand is one of the drivers of innovations in education and technology-based
learning such as Blended Learning approaches enhances the ability to satisfy the demand.
Blended Learning approaches are usually developed based on models which allow learners the
opportunity to study individually. Individual learning by Blended Learning can be conducted in
two scenarios. The first scenario involves where the classroom or a building is equipped with
computers for learners independent study while consulting their instructors periodically. The
second scenario involves learners making use of online materials while studying from individual
homes. Both scenarios can be implemented in a situation like the COVID-19 era.
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4.2 Blended Learning for Social and Collaborative Learning
Collaborative learning is a learning system whereby learners have the opportunity to share
experiences with other learners and with teachers or instructors. It is one of the advantages of
Blended learning as learners are able to share experiences, knowledge and problems with each
other and with teachers. The use of technology enables immediate response and feedback from
instructors. Social and collaborative learning can be effectively actualized with cloud-based
technologies by creating virtual classrooms where interaction between participants is possible
irrespective of distance or place (Onwusuru and Ogwo, 2019). Social and collaborative learning
by Blended Learning can be summarized as follows:
In a virtual classroom or online interactive forum, learners can be instructed to attempt a
series of questions on a specific topic. The learners can answer them online and each
answer is studied by the instructor. The learners with the most differing answers are put
together in another class or group and asked attempt the answers again. The groups
collaborate to generate answers and after a given time, all answers are discussed to
deduce an answer that is accepted by the entire group. This model of collaborative
learning creates conflicts among learners and encourages arguments to enable closer
interactions. The back and forth of style of questioning succeeds in engaging learners
and effectively produces learning through collaboration.
Learners‟ attention can be drawn using interesting stories. The process of „building‟ a
story can be utilized to create a model of collaborative learning. The instructor can
introduce the prologue of a story while the learners are motivated to write the read and
write the chapters of the story. All the entries are read and the learners vote for their
favorite. With the aid of collaborative features built within popular tools like MS Word
or MS PowerPoint, comments and suggestions can be included. Thus though a particular
entry is chosen over the rest, the other learners can also contribute in making it better.
The story then continues for a predefined set of chapters, till it reaches a mutually
agreed end. In this model, the learners are encouraged to interact more freely with each
other and apart from starting off the „story‟, the trainer acts as an un-biased moderator.
This model works very well when developing creative thinking and ideation.
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Correspondingly, collaborative learning can also be achieved with a project-based
approach. A project can be divided into phases and the learners are grouped into teams,
who work on each phase. The project commences with the first phase – with clear set of
goals and deliverables, to be achieved within a stipulated time. At the end of each
project phase, the deliverables are shared in an online forum. The other teams can look
at the work and take inspiration from it to move forward. While each team finally
submits their own deliverables, the final product is built through mutual inspiration and
support.
Finally, Peer Learning can also build powerful avenues for collaborative learning in the
schools. The course should be structured to include sections of informative content and
a series of questions on the same. For the first section, the novice can read the content
and the expert can question him or her on the same. In the following section, the roles
are reversed and the novice can ask questions from the expert. This process is repeated
till the end of the course.
4.3 Blended Learning Tools
Crib Sheet: Tricider
Tricider is a free social voting instrument for creating thoughts and decisions. Tricider acts like a
virtual proposals box, whereby any client (enlisted or not) can post an inquiry on the web, and
gather introductory reactions from others by sharing a connection or a link. Reactions are not
limited to words – respondents can include pictures as well. Tricider underpins learning as both
conversation and joint effort. As far as conversation, the apparatus' contention highlight urges
students to express their deduction on a theme, expanding ability and certainty and empowering
instructors or mentors to see whether students have truly comprehended the thoughts or ideas.
The instrument energizes social learning by permitting students to give both light-contact and
progressively considered input to each other.
Crib Sheet: Typeform
These are various free review instruments (or apparatuses with free forms) that can be utilized to
make tests and surveys for your students. Typeform can be utilized to make surveys in a
homeroom setting, with students taking an interest by means of their portable telephones, tablets
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or workstations. For instance, a survey to overview introductory reactions to an inquiry can be
utilized to begin a conversation. A test question can be utilized to test for comprehension during
an introduction.
Video case study
A case study video helps in outlining learning procedures or effectiveness, in dealing with
learners, in an engaging and captivating way. Case study videos add authenticity to your
communication and provide learners with stories that prove highlight successes and results.
Web conferencing
Web conferencing means the use of computers for visual communication, either through
webcams or by sharing. A web conference is a virtual meeting using electronic conference
technology, between two or more participants in separate locations. Webinars and webcasts are
Web conferencing styles. When paired with a teleconference service, online conferencing makes
the hosting of a meeting an efficient and cost-effective process.
Prezi
Prezi is a web-based presentation development tool (in short, called prezis). It's similar to other
Microsoft PowerPoint presentation software, but it provides some unique features that make it a
strong alternative. This has become popular in schools and businesses in recent years.
Padlet
Padlet is a website that provides a digital canvas for users. The user can post email, videos and
photographs from a mobile or desktop computer. One of Padlet's great appeals for use in
classrooms is the fact that many people can post simultaneously to the same board, making it
very appropriate for collaborative work and project development. For instance, the picture below
shows a study board.
Feedback and Assessment tools
Moodle: Moodle is a free, open-source learning management (LMS) framework, written in PHP
and distributed under the GNU General Public License. Built on pedagogical principles, Moodle
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is used in schools, universities, workplaces and other sectors for blended learning, distance
education, flipped classroom and other e-learning projects.
Peermark: Peermark is a peer review assignment tool. Instructors can create and
manage PeerMark assignments that allow students to read, review, and evaluate one or many
papers submitted by their classmates.
Blogs and Reflective logs
A blog ("weblog shortening") is an online newspaper or information website that presents
content in reverse chronological order, with the newest articles appearing first. It is a forum
where a writer or even a group of writers express their thoughts on a specific topic.
Reflective log is a journal or diary that includes daily student entries describing their interactions
and feelings about their learning process.
5 Discussion and Recommendation
Human health is primarily affected by COVID-19. Individuals cannot function effectively when
health is affected and life is threatened. Millions of children all over the world are continuously
kept out of school due to threats to their health (Pridmore, 2007). Brooks (2014), reports that
good health and emotional competencies are among the major factors that enhance learners‟
performance in schools. The sustenance of good education is fundamentally dependent on the
health of learners and healthy learning environment. COVID-19 pandemic affects the health of
anyone infected with the virus and sometimes can result to loss of life (UNESCO, 2020). In
order to ensure the safety of learners, schools are closed together with other socioeconomic
activities in most countries. The lockdown of schools regionally in many countries and locally in
some other countries all over the world predicated on prevention of the spread of COVID-19 is a
threat to the future of many children mostly in developing countries where schools are not
equipped with technology-based instructional materials due to the economic backwardness in
these developing nations. Reports show that there is country-wide closure of schools in 191
countries; more than 1.6 billion learners have been impacted while more than 63 million teachers
have been affected across the world (Education International, 2020). More than 200 million
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learners have been impacted in Africa as almost the entire Africa has been on lockdown
(UNESCO, 2020; WEF, 2020).
The novelty of COVID-19 and the complexity of its aetiology characteristics entails there is no
existing vaccine for the virus and therefore it is expected that the disease may not be totally
controlled in the nearest future. It is expected that it would take some time for scientists to
develop vaccines for the prevention of COVID-19 or develop drugs for its treatment. Therefore,
the virus would still be a threat to human lives until a vaccine is successfully developed. As
countries all over the world battle the menace of COVID-19, different strategies have been
developed to curb the spread and fatalities. Most of these strategies are just as novel as the
disease itself but nevertheless has been effective. It will take long for human activities such as
education to return to normal or full recovery. Awareness or dissemination of information during
crisis can facilitate prevention and recovery (Azzi-Huck and Shmis, 2020).
The entire South Africa has been on compulsory lockdown since 25 April 2020. Schools have
been on temporary closure since then until now and will remain closed until lockdown is lifted
presumably on the 30 April 2020. It is envisaged that schools in South Africa would have lost
about 14% of annual school curriculum by the end of the lockdown. Through the Department of
Basic Education, the government has worked-out plans for curriculum recovery during and post
COVID-19 era. Learning materials and other learning resources have been provided for learners
online and through radio and television programmes. The Department of Basic Education has
made efforts to minimize the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on education. One of such efforts
includes the launching of COVID-19 Learner Support radio programme in collaboration with
South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). The programme was designed to commence
from 9 April 2020 and would afford learners access to curriculum support lessons (SA, 2020).
Novel COVID-19 pandemic illuminates the current education system and it arrays the plethora
of golden opportunity and insight to be innovative, creative, radical and versatile in advancing
with agility the decolonization of education. All paradigm typologies that lead to its wars are
now silenced by this scourge in our academic doors. Paradigm wars stem from the differences in
how communities of practice view the world and make meaning of it as from 1980 (Denscombe,
2008). This has become an exhaustive exercise which I think now on my own view is latently
silenced by the worldwide Lockdown ever happened in our life spectrum. Any pragmatic move
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should be accurately calculated to avoid superfluous claims that might put us on an illusion of
economic benefits of our colonizers in education. The monopoly of knowledge and information
are weapons to keep the status core of unemployment, inequality and poverty in place. The
evolving of the current situation must tell us now and onward that education under no
circumstances will remain static or be driven by our act against digital technology and the fourth
industrial revolution demands (4IR).
Other strategies such as Blended Learning can be useful in minimizing the impact of COVID-19
on Education. Blended learning would enable learners have access to online learning materials as
well as being able to interact with each other and teachers or instructor. This can be a useful
system for curriculum support and recovery during and after COVID-19 era. However, rural
schools are disadvantaged in terms of access to technology-based learning due to economic
conditions of rural areas where the schools are located. It is reported that the economically
disadvantaged South African children cannot access these provisions adequately. Lack of
electricity, lack of good classrooms and lack of other basic amenities are archetypal of rural
schools and these can hinder effective integration of technology with conventional teaching
methods in rural schools (Dzansi and Amedzo, 2014). The socioeconomic condition of rural
schools entails that they are less advantaged than urban schools in terms of quality education and
good teachers (Du Plessis and Mestry, 2019). Rural schools would be marginalized in the use of
technology-based learning like Blended learning.
The pandemic on the other hand offers the government the opportunity to correct the anomaly
and inequality in the educational system in South Africa which the rural South Africans have
been victims over the years. There should be equal access and opportunity to education and to
education facilities in the country. It is therefore necessary to maintain equity in curriculum
delivery and hence, all electronic learning programmes should be made available to all learners.
In order to achieve equity in curriculum recovery post COVID-19 era, it is imperative that the
impact of the pandemic be included in teaching and learning until full recovery of education in
the country is achieved.
In order to ensure that rural schools can have access to technology-based learning, it is
recommended that ICT facilities such as the following be implemented:
Navigating Forward the Pedagogy of Blended Learning
Ngogi Emmanuel Mahaye 23 April 2020 Page 20
Learn-O-vision: this technology can function without electricity and is capable of
providing rural schools with resilient technology-based learning
National Broadband Policy Review
ICT for Rural Education (ICT4RED)
InfoSat
The ultimate and critical new reality that should not be overlooked or delayed now is to make
Computer Applications Technology (CAT) a compulsory subject in our South African schools.
That could be easier if it is combined or integrated with Life Orientation (LO) from grades 1 to 9
(GET Band) as CAT and life skills. From Grades 10 to 12 becomes pure CAT/IT Learning Area
as a choice. There is no other period than this to advance major curriculum re-design and
development in practical terms. In phasing of Blended Learning pedagogy as a vehicle from the
orthodox approach (traditional classroom) to a digital technology approach (digital classroom) to
set the rising generation on a calculated pathways and direction ever.
Navigating Forward the Pedagogy of Blended Learning
Ngogi Emmanuel Mahaye 23 April 2020 Page 21
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