Online Teaching and Learning in South Asian Higher Education: Challenges and Emerging Opportunities for Teacher Education and Physical Education

Abstract Online teaching and learning has become a permanent component of higher education, yet its educational value depends on more than access to digital platforms. This critical integrative review examines the development of online higher education in South Asia and focuses specifically on its implications for teacher education and physical education. Drawing on recent regional reports, peer-reviewed reviews, policy documents and foundational theories of online learning, the review synthesises evidence concerning digital inequality, faculty competence, learner engagement, assessment, academic integrity, artificial intelligence, accessibility and quality assurance. The analysis shows that South Asian institutions have moved from pandemic-era emergency remote teaching toward a more complex phase of sustainable digital transformation, but progress remains uneven across countries and institutions. Teacher education requires explicit development of digital pedagogical competence, authentic assessment and supervised professional practice, while physical education requires a discipline-sensitive blended model because embodied, psychomotor and safety-related outcomes cannot be fully reproduced online. Generative AI offers emerging opportunities for personalised learning, feedback, multilingual support and professional development, but it also introduces risks related to privacy, bias, academic integrity and over-reliance. The review proposes a Context-Responsive Online Teaching and Learning Framework built around infrastructure readiness, pedagogical alignment, faculty competence, learner support, inclusive access, authentic assessment, discipline-sensitive design and responsible innovation. The article argues that the future of online higher education in South Asia should not be defined by the quantity of technology adopted, but by the quality, equity and educational purpose with which technology is integrated. Keywords: Online Higher Education; South Asia; Teacher Education; Physical Education; Generative Artificial Intelligence. Keywords: Teacher Education; Physical Education; Keywords: Online Higher Education; South Asia; Generative Artificial Intelligence.