A perfect storm
The Academic Sector
Mohamed Kharwa
2020 the year Covid-19 made us shift in the way people learn – from online learning, e-learning to distance learning – while campuses were closed under lockdown.
We have had to shift in the way we do business factoring in the use of hand santitiser, sterilisation, social distancing and masks as well as reduced staff.
The country has been in economic decline before this but now, recession combined with issues around Covid-19 will make education a key target for reduced funding. Additionally, income from taxation has been eroded, putting the economy under even greater stress.
The decision to allow NSFAS students to cash out their allowances for learning material was raised at last year’s conference, but since then we have made presentations, attended conferences and entered the media space to be a voice that is heard. Unfortunately we have not been successful – but we have created awareness and become a voice to be heard.
In terms of the way forward, undoubtedly, there will be further downsizing and scaling back as already seen amongst some of our members. We are going to have to be more agile, innovative and resilient.
But there will be opportunities defined by what happens in the next six months. Rare circumstances combined to create this perfect storm – now is time to navigate a way through.
