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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 9, No. 9
Publication Date: September 25, 2022
DOI:10.14738/assrj.99.13103. Siddiq, A. (2022). Risk Management Strategies During COVID-19 in Higher Education: A Case Study. Advances in Social Sciences
Research Journal, 9(9). 58-72.
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
Risk Management Strategies During COVID-19 in Higher
Education: A Case Study
Areesha Siddiq
School of Management Sciences
Quaid-I-Azam University Islamabad, Pakistan
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted Pakistan’s educational sector
and has induced higher education institutions (HEIs) to adopt risk management
strategies to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus. This study analyzes the risk
management strategies employed by Pakistani higher education during COVID-19.
The study employed semi-structured interviews, and the qualitative data was
collected with objective findings and subjective interviews from 20 respondents
working in different academic and administrative positions. This study identifies
the challenges the HEIs face to maintain quality education while implementing
control measures to maintain health and safety, cope with the shift to online
learning, and continuously monitor mitigating measures on campus. In addition,
the study provides recommendations based on the challenges perceived by the
higher education institutions to implement better risk management strategies,
including research-based education, staff training and sensitization, and strict
control measures. Lastly, the study provides future directions that suggest
analyzing the risk management processes followed by different HEIs around the
globe.
Keywords: COVID-19; Risk Management Strategies, Higher Education Institutions,
Institutional Measures.
INTRODUCTION
In December 2019, a deadly virus with unknown derivations killed more than eighteen hundred
people and infected over seventy thousand in the first fifty days (Shereen et al., 2020). As a
result of its extreme contagiousness, COVID-19 not only interrupted regular economic activities
but also caused disease and deaths (Iorfa et al., 2020). COVID-19 is the sixth pandemic after
H1N1(1918), causing the death of over 20 million people (Liu et al., 2020),while the current
pandemic resulted in 6,358,899 deaths, reported to WHO. The first virus transmission came
from China (Guo et al., 2020), and the outbreak was caused by SARS-CoV-2 (Reiersen et al.,
2022). The symptoms include shortness of breath, muscle pain, joint pain, headache, cough,
chest pain, diarrhea, and altered smell and taste (Aiyegbusi et al., 2021). However, the World
Health Organization (WHO) indicates that the disease can easily be transmitted without
symptoms (Uthman et al., 2020). With its multiple waves, a new variant of COVID-19 has been
discovered in 96 countries, known as Delta Variant; it is more contagious and twice as
transmissible as the original Wuhan strain of SARS-CoV-2 (Burki, 2021). Countries that
successfully mitigated the transmission of COVID-19 in 2020 were later subjected to changes
in the transmission dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 (Inglis et al., 2021). Globally as of August 8, 2022,
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Siddiq, A. (2022). Risk Management Strategies During COVID-19 in Higher Education: A Case Study. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal,
9(9). 58-72.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.99.13103
581,686,197 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in total, out of which 1,560,250 confirmed
cases are from Pakistan alone. The Pakistani government decided to shut universities on March
13, 2020, followed by a lockdown. The higher education Commission responded quickly to the
pandemic, publishing a set of COVID-19 recommendations for HEIs since it affected not only
education but also students’ safety and welfare (Kakepotoa et al., 2021).
The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic poses unknown hazards to the public and decision- makers (Ert et al., 2022), and as it evolves, risk management strategies have been given more
attention(Almaghaslah & Alsayari, 2020). According to Health and Safety Executive, Managing
the risk of COVID-19 in universities is divided into three sections: reducing the risk of infection
on campus, mitigating the risk of virus transmission on campus, and minimizing the associated
harm (Harris, 2020). Complete elimination of this virus is possible when 60% of the population
is vaccinated (Heywood & Macintyre, 2020). However, data on immunity to other
coronaviruses suggest that immunity to variants of COVID-19 might be short-lived, perhaps 12–
18 months in duration (Young-Xu et al., 2018); this emphasizes the significance of strict
mitigation measures that controls virus transmission in higher education institutions. The
students and instructors have different attitudes regarding risk as they are not assumed to have
the same awareness of the roles, risks, and outcomes associated with such
institutional interactions (Colvin & Ashman, 2010); as a result of these behavioral and mental
health consequences, HEIs are faced with challenges regarding how to respond to these issues,
this enables the execution of on-campus evaluation, awareness programs, and mitigation
techniques (Eells & Rockland-Miller, 2010). Therefore, the administrators should work
together with health officials and the government to strengthen mitigation to slow the spread
of COVID-19 by guiding measures such as hand washing, physical distancing, as well as
institutional measures such as ventilation of classrooms, auditoriums, and administration
offices alongside improved digital literacy and health and safety programs (Leidner et al.,
2021).
As stated by (Eugene L. Zdziarski II, 2007, p 356), higher education institutions need to develop
emergency management, and business continuity plans to carry out educational activities
alongside research (Hoefle, 2009). In Pakistan, far too limited attention is paid to the imperative
topic. As a result, additional research is required while considering the framework of higher
education institutions in Pakistan. There is a gap in the present literature regarding how
developing countries coped with the pandemic compared to developed countries.
LITERATURE REVIEW
COVID-19 and Education
COVID-19 has influenced education at every level, with many institutions shifting to online via
Zoom (Kawano & Kakehashi, 2015)to address the worldwide public health crisis (Beery, 2020).
The pandemic has highlighted the shortcomings and restrictions of existing education systems
and the significance of improving digital literacy in developed and under-developed countries
(Rashid & Yadav, 2020). Students have been affected on multiple levels by the closure of
educational institutions, with underprivileged students bearing the brunt of the consequences,
including disruptions in learning, student debt, food insecurity, homelessness, and access to
childcare, health care, housing, internet, and disability services (Aristovnik et al., 2020).
Nonetheless, mathematical modeling demonstrates that closing institutions can reduce the risk
associated with the transmission of COVID-19 (Auger et al., 2020); this can be proved by a
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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol. 9, Issue 9, September-2022
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
research that stated that the closure of educational institutions and other social distancing
measures was linked with a 29% to 37% decrease in influenza transmission rates during the
pandemic (Jackson et al., 2014). In addition to institution closure, open educational applications
and platforms were developed to reach learners remotely and prevent disruptions in education
(Davis et al., 2015).
According to De Oliveira Araujo (2020), There has been a negative influence on the education
industry, as many students face anxiety and panic due to the implication for courses,
assignments, and thesis (Araújo et al., 2020a). For instance, approximately 24.9% of college
students have experienced anxiety due to COVID-19 (Cao et al., 2020). On the other hand, the
higher the perceived risk of COVID-19 pandemic (PRCP), the higher the Generalized Anxiety
Disorder (GAD) (Fu & Wang, 2022). Furthermore, the lack of a suitable learning environment
was a severe issue (Bao, 2020). Other significant issues included the financial consequences,
which extend to future financial issues due to cancellation of enrollment and refund fees. Such
circumstances paved the way to implement risk management strategies to be flexible in
adopting change and being sustainable throughout the pandemic (Araújo et al., 2020). The
World Bank granted $20 Million to support the capacity of educational institutions to recover
from the COVID-19 crisis, which included training teachers, providing basic sanitation and
executing an inclusive distance learning certification pathway (khan & Achimu, 2020), which
was a contribution made by the government of Pakistan during COVID-19. However, for the risk
management process to be successful, it requires not only the initiatives made by the
government but also the commitment and attention of all an educational institution’s
employees. Most importantly, for the top management to ensure the implementation of SOPs,
governmental regulations, and continuous monitoring to effectively evaluate and improve the
risk management processes (Imam, 2021).
Risk Management Process
Risk management has become an essential factor in higher education institutions; even though
it is less developed in education than in other areas, it is crucial due to increased interaction
between teachers and students (Imam, 2021). Components of risk include academic risk,
teaching risk, compliance risk, financial risk, strategic risk, operational risk, technological risk,
research risk, and reputational risk (Helsloot & Jong, 2006). The Risk Management Plan
includes risk identification, assessment, supervision, and evaluation of said risk strategies
(Alam, 2016). If we were to consider the COVID-19 pandemic specifically, the first step in risk
management includes recognizing the virus outbreak and alerting the public. (Imam, 2021).
Studies conducted during H1N1 influenza (2008) stated that risk awareness reduced virus
transmission (Praveen Kumar et al., 2014). As educational institutions are at high risk of COVID- 19, awareness among students is highly prioritized as students ranging from 18-to-25 are the
critical drivers of transmission (Goldstein & Lipsitch, 2020). The second step entails an in-depth
evaluation of the risk; for educational institutions, the shift towards the online mode of
education can be seen as one of the most practical responses to reducing the spread of COVID- 19 (Benseddik, 2020). Moreover, according to data, the COVID-19 rate increased by 56.2% in
countries holding on-campus classes (Leidner et al., 2021).
For educational institutions during COVID-19, risk mitigation comprises the use of better
technology for online learning initiatives due to the absence of classroom setting, methods of
obtaining degrees, and research risk, such as how institutions with a focus on research must