THE world's potential response to Covid 19: Impact and preparations

The COVID-19 pandemic is having a big influence on higher education as well; as a consequence, governments are sealing their borders and schools are going into lockdown. Despite the fact that higher education institutions moved quickly to replace in-person lectures with online learning, these closures had an effect on instruction and examinations, as well as the safety and legal standing of international students in the country in which they were studying. The current economic climate has brought into question the usefulness of a university education, which, in addition to providing academic material, also provides opportunities for socialisation and professional networking. This is possibly the most important aspect of the debate. For educational institutions to remain relevant and to make room for the development and enhancement of interactions between students, teachers, and others made possible by digitalization, the learning spaces that they provide will need to be reorganised.