A Systematic Literature Review on the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Digital Access and the Digital Divide in South African Higher Education

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a transition to remote learning, highlighting the disparities in digital access. South Africa was challenged with providing equal access to education to all students; however, students from marginalised backgrounds were faced with significant challenges. This research aimed to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on the digital access divide among South African higher education students, particularly those from poor backgrounds. The lack of access to digital resources hindered students’ academic engagement, amplifying existing educational inequalities. Addressing this issue was significant for inclusive and equal learning opportunities for all. Systematic searches were performed on four academic databases. A total of 21 articles met the inclusion criteria and were analysed using a thematic analysis approach and an inductive coding strategy to generate the themes. The findings showed that factors contributing to amplifying the digital access divide include disparities in Internet connectivity, limited access to digital devices and socioeconomic inequalities. Although South Africa has made some effort to address the digital access divide, by providing digital devices, such as laptops and tablets, the government did not address the larger socioeconomic challenges affecting students. The lack of common ICT integration policies between higher education and the government amplified the digital divide during the pandemic. The transition to remote learning negatively impacted marginalised students and limited accessibility to university education during the pandemic, amplifying the digital divide during the pandemic.