COVID-19 and the Digital Poverty Penalty in Higher Education in Southern Africa

As the author of this conceptual research chapter, I examine the literature to determine the effects of the poverty penalty in higher education in southern Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic. The strictures meant to contain the pandemic created the new poor and relegated the existing poor to extreme poverty. These circumstances affected the ability of higher education lecturers, students, and parents to adapt to the new pedagogic and assessment strategies needed for the abrupt move to online teaching and learning. The existing inequalities and the new ones created by the pandemic resulted in what I term the "digital poverty penalty". This required that new and existing poor students and their parents had to navigate paying more money, effort, and time to fulfil the requirements of online learning. Because of the digital divide, a two-tier system of higher education was created - those with access to digital information and those struggling to access/use it. The digital poverty penalty manifests in poor people not being able to afford to install digital infrastructure and pay for internet connectivity, ensure power reliability, and obtain technical knowledge. I recommend blended learning and aggressive provision of online facilities to meet existing needs and potential future emergencies.