International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education (IJERE) Vol. 12, No. 1, March 2023, pp. 403~411 ISSN: 2252-8822, DOI: 10.11591/ijere.v12i1.23979  403 Journal homepage: http://ijere.iaescore.com Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Malaysian and Indonesian educators in tertiary institutions Chew Chiou Sheng 1 , Khyrina Airin Fariza Abu Samah 1 , Fadilah Ezlina Shahbudin 1 , David Loh Er Fu 2 , Heni Mulyani 3 , Nugraha 3 1 College of Computing, Informatics and Media, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Melaka Branch, Melaka, Malaysia 2 Academy of Language Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Melaka Branch, Melaka, Malaysia 3 Faculty of Accounting of Education Department, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Bandung, Indonesia Article Info ABSTRACT Article history: Received Feb 22, 2022 Revised Oct 24, 2022 Accepted Nov 19, 2022 This study investigated the challenges encountered by educators conducting online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysian and Indonesian higher learning institutions. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to obtain information in this study. The respondents comprised 250 educators from Malaysian and Indonesian higher learning institutions. A self-developed Likert-scale online questionnaire was given to the respondents. The study findings revealed that Malaysian educators faced greater challenges in mental health, time management, and assessments. In comparison, Indonesian educators experienced more challenges in demonstrating compassion to students during online teaching. Educators in both countries encountered poor internet connectivity, lack of interaction and engagement with students, stress, and anxiety. Opportunities created by the COVID-19 pandemic comprise exploring and learning online teaching tools, producing online teaching and learning materials, conducting research, and writing research papers for publication. Recommendations for addressing online teaching challenges and suggestions for future research are also discussed. Keywords: Educators Challenges Opportunities Tertiary institutions This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA license. Corresponding Author: Chew Chiou Sheng College of Computing, Informatics and Media, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Melaka Branch Jalan Lembah Kesang 1/1-2, Kampung Seri Mendapat, 77300 Merlimau, Melaka, Malaysia Email: cschew@uitm.edu.my 1. INTRODUCTION On December 31st, 2019, Wuhan City Health Committee reported a cluster of 27 pneumonia cases stemming from an unknown etiology. The initial source linking to the subsequently closed Wuhan Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market was later identified as a novel coronavirus [1]. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic [1]. WHO advised the public to practice social distancing by staying home, avoiding social gatherings in crowded places, and maintaining at least one meter or three feet distance from others to reduce infection chances and virus spread. The COVID-19 outbreak has caused universities worldwide, including Malaysia and Indonesia, to close campuses and conduct online distance learning (ODL). The ODL implementation is not feasible when equipment or connectivity is insufficient. Besides, educators must be provided with adequate technology- related training and technical support to increase their knowledge to adopt ODL [2] and ensure maximum technology utilization. Some educators were going online for the first time due to COVID-19. Shifting from traditional to online classes presented a colossal challenge to educators to adapt all their classes urgently and massively to distance learning to maintain educational continuity [3]. They need to prepare and conduct