Equity challenges in academic satisfaction through online learning platforms and post-COVID implications using multigroup analysis

During the lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic, the education sector implemented online teaching using a variety of online learning platforms (OLPs). Pakistan, a developing country, was not fully ready for this sudden move from offline to online teaching methods. Despite the effectiveness of online platforms in academic learning, concerns related to equity issues among students and teachers, such as the accessibility and affordability of internet and related technologies, ICT skills, and time management, have been raised. In this scenario, it is important to measure the effects of internal and external challenges to academic satisfaction of students and teachers. This study incorporates the technology acceptance model (TAM) and theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to build theoretical support. The study adopts a quantitative method, and a survey was conducted with 404 respondents representing students and faculty members of leading universities in all provinces of Pakistan. The data set was measured using multi-group analysis. The findings reveal a significant difference in the relationship between the use of OLPs and the academic satisfaction of students and teachers. However, the results do not reveal any significant difference for other hypothesized relationships across the two groups. This study suggests possible areas of improvement for educationists and educational policy makers to formulate future policies considering the issues raised in this study, in the context of a blended teaching setup.