The effect of the latest novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) on higher education, specifically the transition from face-to-face sessions to online and interactive learning systems, is investigated in this study. The paper discusses the difficulties that higher education institutions face in transitioning to 'online pedagogy,' including mobility issues, technology connectivity, digital learning, and differential access to education. The key obstacles of a shift to distance learning during COVID-19, according to the findings, are technical resources and differential access to education. Though COVID-19 was challenging for students, it also served as a springboard for realistic alternatives such as artificial intelligence (AI), public-private educational collaborations, and digitalization. Universities should study policies to mitigate the detrimental effects of COVID-19, according to the findings, while maintaining a dedication to creativity and large-scale changes in practice.