© koninklijke brill nv, leideN, 2022 | DOI:10.1163/9789004514461_009 CHAPTER 9 South Africa’s University Teaching and Learning Dynamics amid a COVI D-19 Pandemic Phefumula Nyoni and Kholekile Hazel Ngqila Abstract The evolution of university teaching and learning across the globe, but particularly in the developing world, has been marred by diverse crises and South Africa’s higher education system has not been exempted from the difficulties. The sector (and espe- cially its lecturers and students from disadvantaged backgrounds) has had to face ongoing epistemic barriers to dealing with the apartheid legacy. One must understand that the precarious position of students from underprivileged backgrounds during the pre-COVID-19 era has amplified several challenges that embrace the broad economic and social experiences that have manifested in diverse forms of academic exclusion. The chapter describes various ways in which the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa has worsened the precarious position of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. While the government and universities moved to implement various interventions aimed at supporting students, particularly those from underprivileged backgrounds, the pandemic has exposed how the inequalities associated with the apartheid legacy still loom large in defining student academic experiences. Thus, the chapter explains some of the persistent institutional structural weaknesses, particu- larly in rural and township settings, that have left students from these environments exposed to epistemic exclusion. The chapter further presents insights on the processes surrounding teaching and learning during the pre-COVID-19 period and the influence of the shift to online learning in a COVID-19 pandemic setting. The chapter explores the resultant disruptions experienced by lecturers and students from diverse backgrounds in light of rapid changes to the academic programme. Theoretically, the chapter draws from the social pedagogy concept to highlight lecturers and students’ experiences as they have tried to negotiate the day-to-day challenges encountered within a teaching and learning space affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, the chapter explores prospects for the future. For use by the Author only | © 2022 Koninklijke Brill NV