IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON THE UNIVERSITY EDUCATION SYSTEM IN SRI LANKA: PERSPECTIVES OF TEACHERS ON ONLINE TEACHING AND ASSESSMENTS

Author Name: Mrs. Anuja Raveenther

Volume/Issue: 02/09

Country: Sri Lanka

DOI NO.: 08.2020-25662434 DOI Link: https://www.doi-ds.org/doilink/03.2022-55546434/UIJIR

Affiliation:

Trincomalee Campus, Eastern University, Sri Lanka

ABSTRACT

In Sri Lanka, access to higher education is already very limited. The government ordered all educational institutions closed from 12 March 2020, including higher education institutions—15 state universities and about 40 other state and non-state tertiary education institutions. Such disruptions in tertiary education by COVID-19 could delay the creation of the leaders and skilled workforce the country needs to successfully transition to upper- middle-income status. It has changed the traditional education system to the educational technologies model, where teaching and assessments are conducted online. This paper aims to measure the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on the University Education System in Sri Lanka: perspectives of teachers on online teaching and Assessments. This research study adopted the Interpretative phenomenological Analysis (IPA) of qualitative research methodology. The study was conducted among the teachers working in the state Universities of Sri Lanka. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted among 20 Lecturers to collect data regarding the barriers faced by them during online teaching and assessment. The findings revealed four categories of barriers that are faced by teachers during online teaching and assessments. Under home environment settings, a lack of basic facilities, external distraction and family interruption during teaching and conducting assessments were major issues reported. Institutional support barriers such as the budget for purchasing advanced technologies, a lack of training, a lack of technical support and a lack of clarity and direction were also reported. Teachers also faced technical difficulties. The difficulties were grouped under a lack of technical support, it included a lack of technical infrastructure, limited awareness of online teaching platforms and security concerns. Furthermore, the findings of the study can be helpful to the regulatory authorities and employers of higher education institutions who are planning to adopt online teaching as a regular activity in the future. The insights gained from the findings can help them to revisit their existing policy frameworks by designing new strategies and technical structures to assist their teachers in successfully embracing the Education Technology to deal with any crisis in the future.

Key words: HEIs, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Pandemic, Teachers’ perspectives