Education 5.0 in the face of Covid-19: Zimbabwe higher education institutions’ response – 2 years on

Abstract

The post-Covid-19 pandemic pedagogy has seen institutions transitioning to a blend of online, remote, and face-to-face teaching against the demands of the Education 5.0 heritage based higher education philosophy. The purpose of the study was to explore how the implementation of the Education 5.0 philosophy was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic induced university closure and the responses of the higher education institutions (HEI) in Zimbabwe to contain the spread of the Coronavirus and their preparedness to transition to blended learning, in the face of the demands of the Education 5.0 philosophy. The study employed a qualitative approach that was underpinned by a phenomenological research design. Purposive sampling was used to collect data using online semi-structured interviews from a sample of 15 key informants drawn from three HEI in Zimbabwe. The study found out that, while there was an initial haphazard and uncoordinated response to the loss of learning time due to institutional closure, the transition to online, remote and distance learning proved difficult with the challenges associated with blended learning with online learning from home persisting to the present day. Teaching staff lagged in the use of technological gadgets for online learning, students, and lecturers experienced network challenges as well as the cost of accessing learning content online. As such, the dictates of Education 5.0 especially industrialisation and innovation could not be fully implemented due to online instruction. The study concludes that the Covid-19 pandemic hurt the implementation of the Education 5.0 philosophy in HEI in Zimbabwe. The study recommends that blended learning be strengthened. Innovation and industrialisation activities must be accelerated to ensure that there is a positive impact on the economy and society at large.