20 May 2020 | Volume 79 | Edition 5
Teaching Across the Digital Divide
Kristin Kvevli
Source: Medium
UCT is criticised for its management of emergency remote teaching
T
he University of Cape Town’s handling of emergency remote teaching in response to the national lockdown has been the subject of reproval. Criticism levelled by the Students’ Representative Council (SRC) has been widely circulated. “A 2019 Inequality Trends report by Stats SA and Saldru highlighted the digital divide between urban and rural households and indicated that access was racialised, with 90.3% of households headed by White people having internet compared to 58.1% of Black-headed households.”
In aid of continuing the academic year in spite of COVID-19 and the resultant restrictions enforced by the Disaster Management Act, UCT students were introduced to remote learning on Monday, April 20th. The student body was informed that they could loan laptops from the university should they fulfil certain criteria, such as South African citizenship and eligibility for financial aid. Additionally, all students received data bundles regardless of their network provider. After just under a month of the university administration’s private deliberations, UCT students returned to their studies.
However, South African universities contend with a particular history. The legacy of colonialism and Apartheid persists in spatial, racial and economic inequalities and continues to affect access to resources such as the internet. A 2019 Inequality Trends report by Stats SA and Saldru highlighted the digital divide between urban and rural households and indicated that access was racialised, with 90.3% of households headed by White people having internet compared to 58.1% of Blackheaded households. This digital divide led to numerous students questioning the fairness of the university’s decision.
This meant that these students were not given an opportunity to familiarise themselves with the new systems before formal teaching began as the week allocated to orientation had already passed. The SRC reported that their request to extend the orientation period was denied. Instead, the university offered to extend assignment deadlines for these students.
“According to a statement by the university, the nation-wide lockdown restricted movement and, therefore, hindered the distribution process, leaving some students without proper access for up to two weeks into the new term.”
Since then, faculties have had different approaches to emergency remote teaching. The SRC has expressed concern that certain departments have been “disregarding the circumstances of students.’’ Some courses have prioritised students’ mental health and greatly reduced the amount of work to make it manageable, while others have maintained or increased the workload to ensure that the course covers all its originally intended content. Varying methods of online teaching have been observed, with some courses utilising lecture videos, forum discussions, and external Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) applications. However, not every course is providing the same amount of material to the same degree. The SRC has, thus, urged students to report any inconsistencies in their online experience.
The SRC raised concerns about this lack of access and criticised the university for failing to supply laptops to all students before the official opening of the new term. According to a statement by the university, the nation-wide lockdown restricted movement and, therefore, hindered the distribution process, leaving some students without proper access for up to two weeks into the new term.
The SRC has expressed concern that certain departments have been “disregarding the circumstances of students.’’