Transition to online education in Nepal during COVID-19 pandemic: Great challenges and opportunities enhancing the online education system

• In Event: Student Learning and Experiences in South Asia

Proposal

In the 21st century technology appears to have no limits and is impacting all facets of life. Globally, education systems, in particular, are being transformed by the implementation of Information Communication Technologies (ICT) that enables flexibility and improved processes. ICTs provide flexibility particularly through different online learning platforms which enables people to participate in education from all corners of the world without having to necessarily travel to the centers of schooling. Moreover, ICT can also improve processes in face to face classroom where different tools can be integrated for the benefits of both the instructor and the learner. However, not everyone is reaping the ICT benefits equally or fully.

Everyone has the right to an education. Organizations such as UNESCO, have long declared that education is a fundamental human right of every woman, man, and child. While it is hard to find a country where that sentiment is not espoused, the question must still be asked as to whether the noting is true in every country. Specifically, this proposal aims to problematize the notion of education as a right through the lens of a country like Nepal?

The COVID-19 pandemic drastically affected the world, leading to many countries locking down internally and closing their borders. These closures impacted virtually all educational institutions throughout the world (Bozkurt, et al., 2020). As of Mid-April 2020, more than 1.5 billion children and youth across 195 countries were affected by the lockdown of schools and colleges, which is 72% of the world's student population. While this number is decreasing, more than 1.3 billion learners in 186 countries are still unable to attend school (UNESCO, 2020). According to the UNESCO (May 2020), almost nine million (8,796,624) students in Nepal are affected due to school/university closures during COVID-19. Out of this number, 9,58,127 (11%) are in pre-primary, 2,466,570 (28%) are in primary, 3,463,763 (39%) are in secondary and 404,718 (5%) are in tertiary education. Nepal, not having sufficient arrangements to battle the pandemic, was in a complete shutdown for more than five months starting in May. Due to COVID-19, more than 1.3million students (UGC, 2016) of different levels have lost their regular college activities (Gautam & Gautam, 2020). The lockdown has caused a massive interruption in the education system of Nepal with no medium to conduct classes, exams were postponed, and in some cases canceled as well. Due to a lack of resources and knowledge, the government of Nepal was unable to find an appropriate way to conduct the online classes and exams for students and decided to cancel the exam for this year and issue certificates to the secondary level students based on internal evaluations of their respective schools (Rauniyar, 2020). Almost all the universities and programs in Nepal have been running traditionally (face-to-face) without the use of any online learning management system since the introduction of the first formal school in 1853, and this teaching method is still prevalent to this day. These universities were built for on-class practices, having no infrastructure and preparedness for online classes. This pandemic has also questioned the capacity of Nepali educational institutions to continue students’ learning under these circumstances. The current situation could be an eye-opener and might give a push to rethink about the education system in Nepal.

The 65th CIES annual conference theme provides an opportunity to highlight the problematized education system of Nepal, where educational institutions are still waiting for the pandemic to be over so that they can resume face-to-face education for the students. Through this proposal, we aim to analyze the scenario of education in Nepal after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and how we can convert the challenges into an opportunity to revolutionize the education system in Nepal for better sustainability in the long run.

Universities and Instructors are fighting a battle and trying to figure out how to teach courses online and it is really difficult for them to decide the online mode of education because of no prior experience and preparedness. Currently, most of the Instructors are using tools like zoom, google meet, and google classroom to conduct the class. The current situation is a challenge for the students as well because Nepal does not have a reliable and affordable internet connection throughout the country, and most of the family are not in a position to afford expensive internet. Moreover, it is difficult to conduct online classes for students from rural areas of the country due to a lack of computer literacy and electricity problems.

Using survey and interviews for data collection, we address the question of what steps can be taken to enhance the education system of Nepal through the use of ICT and in light of the impact of COVID. The authors developed a set of questionnaires and interview questions that will focus on understanding the overall current education system of Nepal. The research questions that will be used for this study are: If instructors received any online teaching training before teaching online classes, their understanding of the Learning Management System (LMS), tools they use to conduct online teaching classes and challenges faced by the instructors during online teaching. The proposal will explain the finding of the study. This study also examines how countries like Nepal can use Covid-19 pandemic as an opportunity to explore new technologies in the education sector of Nepal.

Authors

• Kushal Jha, Oklahoma State University

• Tutaleni I. Asino, Oklahoma State University

• Oluwafikayo E Adewumi, Oklahoma State University