Remote learning and online teaching in Fiji during COVID-19: The challenges and opportunities

Aneesh A Chand; Prashant P Lal; Krishneel K Chand

doi:10.1016/j.ijsu.2021.106019

Remote learning and online teaching in Fiji during COVID-19: The challenges and opportunities

Int J Surg. 2021 Aug:92:106019. doi: 10.1016/j.ijsu.2021.106019. Epub 2021 Jul 10.

Authors

Aneesh A Chand¹, Prashant P Lal², Krishneel K Chand³

Affiliations

¹ School of Information Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Physics (STEMP), The University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji. Electronic address: aneeshamitesh@gmail.com.
² School of Information Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Physics (STEMP), The University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji.
³ College of Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences, Fiji National University, Suva, Fiji.

PMID: 34252594
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijsu.2021.106019

Abstract

Fiji is a small Pacific Island Country with a population of around 902,536 people. The current pandemic of COVID-19 is impacting the well-being, social life, and economic status of the country. Besides, the well-known health difficulties caused by this virus, education is another crucial sector that has been crippled. To prevent the local transmission of such deadly virus the common exercises used globally are lockdowns (stay-in), social distancing, and use of PPEs (facemask, hand glove, and face shield). As a result, students, and teachers at all levels of school have been obliged to quickly adapt to online learning. Therefore, in this paper, an outlook of COVID-19 and its impact on the educational system is discussed.

Keywords: COVID-19; Digital migration methods; Emergency remote teaching; Online learning.

Publication types

Letter

MeSH terms

COVID-19*
Communicable Disease Control
Education, Distance*
Fiji
Humans
Pandemics