The impact of force majeure situations (coronavirus) on the higher education

Abstract

The COVID-19 epidemic has triggered a negative spiral in the global economy and had a profound effect on the higher education system. As a social distancing technique to avoid community transmission, the abrupt shutdown of universities has switched face-to-face classrooms to online learning platforms. The article analyzes the impact of COVID-19 on the development of graduate and postgraduate education in Kazakhstan. It was found that the main forms of education in a pandemic are asynchronous or part-time education, synchronous and mixed. Four groups of teachers formed as a result of the forced transition to distance learning are characterized: teachers of disciplines that require a significant amount of practical, laboratory work; teachers who actively used digital technologies before the pandemic; teachers familiar with digital technologies; teachers who have not been able to master new tools for organizing learning, teamwork and the expanded use of digital resources. The problems common to most universities are identified: the lack of professionally developed programs for online learning, insufficient funding, and the need for methodological training of teachers to work with students online.