The Challenges of Online Learning in African Higher Education: A Critical Reflection on the Digital Divide Associated with the COVID-19 Pandemic

Critical reflection of the challenges caused by the digital divide in African higher education is needed. The chapter analyses the difficulties of access to virtual teaching and learning platforms for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Accessing information and communications technology facilities and digital platforms from home during the COVID-19 pandemic has been a privilege mainly accessible to those who can afford to pay for services. Thus, online teaching and learning at this crucial juncture have intensified the digital divide between the haves and the have-nots , exacerbating the already existing inequalities in many African higher education systems. The impact is even more severe on the higher education institutions that work with relatively poor and historically disadvantaged students. This chapter thus aims to interrogate the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on African higher education, highlighting the challenges of the digital divide and access to learning infrastructure.