Should Nepal make online education a norm? What does it take anyway?

Efforts underway to ensure 70% pass rate in SEE: PM

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has announced the launch of online education across the country to ensure that up to 70 per cent of students pass the upcoming School Education Examination (SEE).

The Rising Nepal श्रावण २०८१

Internet connectivity changes lifestyle of folks of Upper Mustang

MYAGDI, September 20: With the availability of high speed internet, folks of Upper Mustang have come out from hassles in communications. It has ended their compulsion to reach to the district headquarters, Jomsom, for internet connectivity and find the area near mobile tower for mobile conversation. Locals of Baglung, Muktinath, Loghekar-Damodarkunda and Lomanthang rural municipality now are enjoying smooth communications owing to the improved bandwidth of internet. Ghamjughuti Gurung, a local of Charang, said the high speed internet has made communications easier within and outside the country and moreover it has eased the students to pursue their online education in the difficult times of coronavirus. “With the expansion of communications facilities, the lives and lifestyles of geographically remote and distant areas have witnessed sea change”. The internet access has made us able to exchange ideas and make communications far and wide from a closet. It was very difficult when there was poor connectivity, Gurung added. Tasi Gurung, a local of Lomanthang, shared that the improved internet connectivity has amply helped in facilitating development works, delivering public services and marketing of local products. “In addition, it has also contributed to the promotion of tourism in the area”, he added. The mobile service has brought unprecedented changes in the lifestyle of the local people, he further informed. The state-owned Nepal Telecom has expanded its internet service in Thasang, Gharpajhong and Baragung Muktichhetrarural municipality through wire and fiber connectivity. Senior Engineer of Telecom Baglung section, Keshab Sharma shared that the Telecom has operated 3G service from Muktinath, Damodarkunda to Korala border checkpoint.

Ratopati English भाद्र २०७८

Pandemic, Online classes and Children

Children learn much more than reading and math when they attend school in person; they also learn critical social and emotional skills they will carry into adulthood. Switching traditional education to online education can affect children differently. The global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has spread worldwide, affecting almost all countries and territories. The outbreak was first detected in December 2019 in China’s Wuhan Province. Countries around the world have been asking the public to take responsive care. The public care habits include washing hands, wearing face masks, maintaining physical distance, and avoiding mass gatherings and assemblies. Enforcing lockdown and staying isolated at home have also been put in place in an attempt to flatten the curve and control the transmission of the disease. The pandemic has created an unprecedented disruption in the education system in human history, affecting nearly 1.6 billion learners in more than 200 countries. The closure of schools, educational institutions and other learning spaces have impacted more than 94% of the world’s student population. Social distancing and restriction orders have significantly impacted traditional educational practices. Within a short span of the COVID-19 pandemic, many researchers have shared their works on teaching and learning in different ways. The need of the hour is to undertake innovation and implement alternative educational methodologies and assessment strategies. Prior to the pandemic, one out of every 5 children, adolescents and youth globally were out of school. According to Nepal’s Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, the country is home to approximately seven million students, with more than five million enrolled in government-funded public schools between 2017 and 2018. On March 18, 2020, the federal government closed all schools and colleges in the country in order to curb the spread of COVID-19.In the meantime, there some attempts have been made to conduct classroom learning activities remotely, through broadcasts on television and radio and online platforms, though virtual options remain difficult in a country where access to the internet and computers is unevenly distributed. In fact, most schools don't even have internet connectivity, as noted in the 2020-2021 Economic Survey (Ministry of Finance), which reported that only 12 percent of public schools have the capacity to offer information and communication technology- (ICT) based learning. Despite having significant strength and unprecedented accessibility to quality education, there are weaknesses inherent in the use of this medium that can pose potential threats to the success of any online program. Before any online program leads to success, it must have students who are able to access the online learning environment. Lack of access, whether it be due to economic or logistic reasons,will exclude otherwise eligible students from the course which is a significant issue in a country like Nepal. Both the students and facilitator must possess a minimum level knowledge of various kinds of digital applications like ; Zoom, Google Meet, MS Teams, and many more to function successfully in an online environment . However, disruption at any point during online sessions due to limited internet access or sometimes due to power cut-off is liable to impact the smooth teaching-learning activity. In such a situation, the technology is neither seamless nor reliable and can detract from the learning experience. Beyond the educational impacts of online learning are its developmental impacts. Children learn much more than reading and math when they attend school in person; they also learn critical social and emotional skills they will carry into adulthood. Switching traditional education to online education can affect children differently. It is found that many students are skipping classes and playing games online instead of focusing on their classes. Students are socially isolated during online classes which has reduced interactions with their family members. Children remain unmotivated these days due to lack of group work , group presentation and many other activities which used to be in schools. They are forced to work in isolation which results in a lack of motive and confidence within them. The uncertainty and disruption of the pandemic, coupled with the subsequent shift to online learning, can take an emotional toll on children. Additionally, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 3.7 million children ages 12-17 receive mental health services at school,but they are not at school to receive it. The social isolation a child may feel during online education can lead to depression. Children may be worried about themselves or family members contracting COVID-19. They may have loved ones who are sick with the virus or may have lost a family member. Parents are concerned about the long-term effects of online learning on their children. Parents, teachers, and students were blindsided when the pandemic forced schools across the country to close. Even as some schools have begun to reopen, others have remained closed and millions of students are still learning remotely to some degree. As the impact of online education becomes more apparent, families and educators can learn valuable information and use this as an opportunity to grow.

Ratopati English श्रावण २०७८

Digital divide threatens our educational goals

Only three out of 10 children have access to online education, as per UNICEF/Nepal.

The Kathmandu Post श्रावण २०७८

Aryans Group motivated students to study online with online app

Rajpura, Near Chandigarh has released a list of online education portals for the students of its own campus as well as for the other campuses across the Country.

Aarthik News English आषाढ २०७८

Distribution of SIM cards to community school students

RAMPUR, July 27: Rambha Rural Municipality in Palpa district has decided to provide SIM Cards free of cost to the students of community schools in order to facilitate their online education. The rural municipality is to provide the SIM Cards to the students so that they could be able to take their online classes in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic. The students and teachers can communicate by phone with the close user group SIM Cards distributed free of cost. The free SIM card distribution was begun with the budget of some Rs 320 thousand under the COVID special programme. The programme falls under the federal conditional grant scheme, said Chair of Rambha Rural Municipality, Bishnu Prasad Bhandari. The students from Grade 6 to 12 will be benefitted by the scheme. However, priority is given to those without having access to internet, family with low income, and are away from schools, he added.

Ratopati English आषाढ २०७८

Opinion | Making online education effective

The government needs to allocate more funds to support online teaching-learning.

The Kathmandu Post आषाढ २०७८

Online education: Not yet a necessity in Nepal

Many educationists have started to put forth online education as an alternative to physical classroom teaching. But is it a necessity or a desire?

Onlinekhabar English जेष्ठ २०७८

Innovating online education

Prior to COVID-19 pandemic, the now popular online education system had rarely become a priority for Nepali academic institutions. Now the nationwide lockdown has compelled the majority of the institutions and their teachers to run their classes online, mostly by using Zoom software. The evolving trend in the Nepali education system has thus made Nepali teachers, students, and parents familiar with the online classes. Thus COVID-19 has made virtual teaching and learning a new normal. But without proper plans, sufficient technological tools, and much-needed awareness among all stakeholders, it won’t be possible to achieve positive outcomes from ongoing online education. The past experiences have shown that poorly designed technologies rather discourage the teachers and students from adopting it.

Republica बैशाख २०७७

Education in govt’s policies and programs: ‘Positive but inadequate’

KATHMANDU, May 16: The government's policies and programs for the upcoming fiscal year have come up with positive arrangements such as delivery of online education albeit they are inadequate in the light of the emerging impact of COVID-19 pandemic.