Conceptualising Online Operations to Transition Student Governance in Higher Education Amid Covid-19: A Turbulent Experience

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the normal and traditional operations of many organised sectors of the global societies. This paper intends to introspect the experience of student governance during this period of a forceful use of e-governance – force majeure. Most student organisations from historically disadvantaged institutions and digital struggles are not fully addressed as the result of developments brought by the various stages of Industrial Revolutions. This impacts mostly student movements who emerged ideologically from previous and current underprivileged group in the society. This deprived group through observation demonstrated to have no trust on any technological transmissions regarding sensitive student governance issues. It is arguable that these historic facts have contributed to turbulence for transitioning students to the online platforms. The interest of this paper is to pen down various experiences from observation and conceptual point of view as part of literature review. It also intends to provide more substance to the knowledge production and scholarship, using both (complexity and change management theories). In addition, this paper highlights that some student movements are detached from their own constituencies and have no mandate to govern in the institutions they were elected to lead. The paper remains qualitative and intends to conclude on desktop issues which could be recommended for radical shift in the narrative of student governance in higher education. The findings must intend to open more areas for research in student governance in the era of disaster and introduction of embedded e-governance services through digital means and the post-COVID-19 higher education.