THE IMPACT OF CORONAVIRUS (COVID19) PANDEMIC ON HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS (HEIs) IN YEMEN: CHALLENGES AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE FUTURE

Since the beginning of this year, the world has lived in one of the most difficult stages since the Great Depression during the 1930s. All sectors have been affected significantly because of the suspension and other actions that have been taken, such as social distancing and self-isolation that has occurred because of Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic. This has affected the education sector, particularly Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the world in general and Yemen in particular. Universities in Yemen as a result, stopped their activities preventively to contain the spread of the novel corona virus among students. Each country reacted in a different way based on their capabilities. Some countries immediately shifted to online education and others faced obstacles however, country like Yemen is under great pressure from different aspects. As a result, this procedure caused many challenges for higher education institutions in Yemen which prevent an easy adaptation to the new situation such as: internet and infrastructure weaknesses, cope with change difficulties, academics career stability, university's financial stability, the complexity of some applied disciplines, student's mental health, and costs of fast transformation. As a result of the mentioned challenges, this study suggested some recommendations to overcome from this situation or any other urgent situations in the future that may shutdown the educational system. Finally, because of the complex and interrelated difficulties in Yemen, the authors suggested an implementation through a 5-year plan under the direct supervision of the Ministry of Higher Education in Yemen. Article visualizations