Agonies Presented to Students and their Pedagogues in Institutions of Higher Learning due to Load Shedding: Eclectic Contexts
Mavimbela Awam 
& Simon Murote Kang’ethe
Issue: Vol.5 No. 7 September 2024 Article 1 pp.183-194
DOI : https://doi.org/10.38159/jelt.2024571 | Published online 6th September, 2024.
© 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Axiomatically, in this era of irregular power outages, a fundamental change in the method of delivering lectures, whether online learning, distance learning, or continuing education has emerged as a universal remedy. Researchers have put to the fore that load shedding has adverse effects on the mental health of students and lecturers. This is a literature review investigative analysis which endeavoured to elucidate the detrimental effects on mental health and well-being caused by power outages to students and their educators. The article utilised variegated literature from various research engines such as Ebscohost, Google Scholar, Research Gate, etc. The study concurred with the legal decision that power outages contravene the South African Constitution, with this transgression causing socio-psychological repercussions. The study concluded that the upcoming government elections give a chance for change to the energy parastatal behemoth, ESKOM. The paper recommends, as a ploy to ease agonies imposed by load-shedding, the implementation of various coping strategies, including maladaptive coping strategies, resolution coping strategies, and the application of the circumplex model coping. The study discusses the impact of load shedding on South Africans’ mental health including involvement of psychosocial factors. It offers a detailed examination of the mental health implications of load shedding.
Keywords: Mental Health, Load Shedding, Pedagogies, Missing Classes, Academic Performance
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Mavimbela Awam is one of the youngest intellectuals to emerge as a Clinical Social Worker from Walter Sisulu University. He has engaged in advancing Clinical Social Welfare in Eastern Cape through both practical and academic avenues. Consequently, in this huge unemployment situation in South Africa, he has been headhunted to participate in a multi-disciplinary team in implementing palliative care at various hospitals in the O.R. Tambo Region. He is currently involved in the decolonisation of Palliative Care Social Work training for better quality of life. At a young age, he has significantly impacted both practice and academia in advocating for marginalised communities in health care. Mr. Mavimbela is frequently recognised by peers as an exceptional individual within his cohort.
Simon Murote Kang’ethe works as a full Social Work Professor at Walter Sisulu University. He is also a C2 NRF-rated researcher focusing on culture, health, children, social enterprises, and geriatrics. He has supervised close to fifty master’s and PhD students and has authored many book chapters. He has authored more than 200 journal papers.
Awam, Mavimbela & Simon Murote Kang’ethe.”Agonies Presented to Students and their Pedagogues in Institutions of Higher Learning Due to Load Shedding: Eclectic Contexts.” Journal of Education and Learning Technology 5, no.7 (2024): 183-194. https://doi.org/10.38159/jelt.2024571
© 2024 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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