Challenges

Like other countries in Latin America, Peru was severely affected by the closure of universities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The situation was made worse by regulations that restricted the number of online courses that can be offered. These restrictions, coupled with the lack of a tradition of distance higher education in the country left teachers, students and technical staff without the critical skills that are required to embark on remote education. The lack of quality and engaging online offer could reduce the chances of educational success and have a very negative impact on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 (Quality Education).

Toward a Solution

This project aimed to provide pedagogical continuity to public higher education services during the COVID-19 crisis and sought to strengthen virtual higher education in Peru. The project was entirely funded by the Government of Peru, through its Ministry of Education and the dedicated Programme to Support the Design and Implementation of Strategies for Pedagogical Continuity (PMESUT) unit. The project aimed to promote a higher degree of maturity of the Higher Education Institution (HEI) by working from the profiles of teachers and students, experience in online teaching, as well as the equipment and available connectivity; taking account of the socioeconomic profiles of students, and what sort of equipment and connectivity they have. In this way, the technological needs and the most recommended methodologies can be developed in an adapted manner.

A first stage of technical support included assistance to teachers to adapt courses to distance education, and support to technical staff to ensure the proper functioning of the platform and of all the essential services to guarantee pedagogical continuity. In its initial phase, the project involved a diagnosis of each university to determine the capacities, understand the processes, and design, together with each institution, the transition towards the adoption of the most suitable digital model for each educational ecosystem. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to have knowledge of its pedagogical tools, its level of technical support for its operation and its access to connectivity.

The second phase of the project included the implementation of training courses aimed at promoting the development of teaching skills. It sought to positively impact teaching, by improving teaching and learning processes and generating a culture conducive to quality improvement, which will ultimately benefit the student. This work was carried out in conjunction with university staff, taking account of each professor’s possibilities.

Effective distance education requires the configuration of a learning community that supports teachers and students, not only in regard to teaching, but also with co-curricular participation. It also requires the development of other social mechanisms including the generation of a culture of incentives and recognition, and self-regulation on the part of students, that will lead them to a stage of maturity, independence, and commitment necessary for this new mode of teaching and learning.

The project is a successful example of intra-regional South-South cooperation because, although focused on Peruvian public universities, it involved the participation of institutions and 48 specialists from Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Spain and Venezuela. More than 120 hours of training were provided to almost 3,000 teachers and some 13,000 students. The project had a 79 per cent completion rate by participants. In total, 7,134 badges were awarded, 320 virtualized model courses were held and 320 digital leaders were trained. The resulting training modules, materials, and guidelines are now available for free at the UNESCO IESALC virtual Campus . The participation of UNESCO IESALC in this programme allowed for the further development of the Institute’s own capacities in this field, generating programmes, services and training modules that could be replicable and adaptable for use in other institutions and countries.

UNESCO IESALC identified in this abrupt entry into distance education a unique opportunity to rethink traditional designs of higher education and move towards hybridization: a balance between the advantages of the simultaneous presence of students and teachers in a physical classroom, laboratory or workshop, alongside online work and cooperative learning, mediated by technology and conducive to the much-needed transformation of higher education for the sake of better quality and equity.