Adopting virtual classes during the COVID-19 lockdown: interrogating new approaches to teaching and the exclusion of learners in rural settings

Abstract

A variety of instructional strategies were devised to ensure continuity in education during the COVID-19 lockdown. The purpose of this paper is to interrogate the exclusion of learners in rural settings of Zimbabwe as a result of the methods of teaching that were adopted by the government during the COVID-19 lockdown. The paper seeks to answer the question; how are the strategies meant to ensure continuity in education during the lockdown, excluding learners in rural settings? The strategies that were adopted by the government have been identified to be contributing to the exclusion of learners in rural settings. The paper uses data collected through semi-structured interviews from 20 teachers who teach in rural areas at two of Zimbabwe’s ten provinces as a follow-up to three approaches of remote teaching that the country is adopting. The study reflects that the adoption of uniform approaches to teaching and learning throughout the country during COVID-19 lockdown would not be successful as the functionality of each approach lies on the infrastructure and the economic conditions present in each particular geographical location. The strategies adopted during the pandemic in a low-income country like Zimbabwe should not be permanent but should simply be an emergency response. Learners in rural settings are bound to be excluded in education during the pandemic if policymakers try to come up with one size fits all approaches meant for abrupt implementation. Strategies that suit the idea of emergency remote teaching during the pandemic are the most favourable.