The COVID-19 pandemic has placed enormous pressure on organizations worldwide, with higher education institutions (HEIs) in Malaysia being no exception. The crisis forced a quick shift to digital education, initially as a temporary substitute for face-to-face instruction. After the pandemic, many Malaysian HEIs have continued using online and distance learning through various digital platforms. Although this approach worked well during the emergency, concerns remain about its long-term ability to maintain educational quality. Higher education now faces a highly volatile and unpredictable strategic environment, requiring adaptive and resilient institutional responses. Before the pandemic, the external environment was often described by the VUCA framework: volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. However, the emergence of new virus variants like Delta and Omicron has made VUCA insufficient to fully describe current challenges. A newer framework, BANI: brittle, anxious, nonlinear, and incomprehensible, better captures today’s strategic realities. This paper examines the relevance of BANI as a tool for understanding the evolving challenges faced by Malaysian higher education. It also suggests possible scenarios and adaptive strategies to ensure institutional sustainability. The study combines experiential insights with a review of relevant literature to offer a comprehensive analysis of the changing landscape of higher education.
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