Coping with COVID-19: Higher Education in the GCC Countries

Abstract

Today, the COVID-19 pandemic has, among many other things, tested the resilience of higher education institutions, but profoundly reshaped the management of learning, education and skills development, leading to a rethinking of perspectives and approaches within the education business as a whole. This is in addition to prompting transformation systems to better adjust to the devastating effects and implications of this pandemic or other possible potential crises. This study seeks to provide a general descriptive and analytical overview of the various responses of higher learning institutions in the context of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) amid seismic changes, with particular emphasis on the ways and means through which respective institutions have adopted to survive in the business of education, salvage the careers of its students’ population, all while challenged to protect their community well-being. While events continue to unfold, this study also seeks to highlight the extent to which universities demonstrated their roles in preserving the standards of quality education and social responsibility in general, across the GCC countries during the pandemic of the COVID-19 and to draw attention to responses and coping mechanisms showcasing resilience, creativity, and re-imaginations of future educational business. This study shows that institutions of higher education in the GCC, in their response to COVID-19, have implemented online learning effectively thanks to their already established distance education and digital transformation. Through close coordination with their respective governments, GCC institutions of higher learning demonstrated good governance, showing due attention to the safety and welfare of their students, faculty, and staff, while giving attention to their roles in community service, whether in the form of promotion of awareness campaigns, volunteering, research support, and initiatives. More research should explore the future of higher institutions in the post coronavirus world as well as the inter-communication and cooperation for better learning and education in the region. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.