Challenges of Online Education during COVID-19 Pandemic in Nepal, Assignments of English

Download Challenges of Online Education during COVID-19 Pandemic in Nepal and more Assignments English in PDF only on Docsity! - 45 - Short Essay Volume 4, Issue 1 (2020), pp. 45-49 International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Economic Issues ISSN: 2616-0048 Print/ ISSN: 2631-231X Online Challenges of Online Education during COVID-19 Pandemic in Nepal Kabita Khati Padmakanya Multiple Campus, Nepal, Khem Raj Bhatta Central Department of Psychology, Nepal ABSTRACT Covid-19 lead to colleges and universities ending in-person instruction. The online education that emerged after COVID-19, has been challenging in Nepal because students, teachers, and administrators were not prepared for it. Stakeholders of education should work in many areas to enhance the effectiveness of online education and make it more similar to classroom education. Keywords: COVID-19, Online Education, Challenges, College Education The coronavirus outbreak that started from Wuhan city of China in late 2019, has claimed more than four hundred thousand deaths globally. COVID-19 pandemic has become a threat to the community worldwide (Buheji et al., 2020) and Nepal is no exception. Nepal had the first case of COVID-19 on 20th February 2020 (Shrestha et al., 2020). In a span of three months, cases have been increased to 10728 and death toll to 24 (Mishra, 2020). - 46 - Besides the casualties, the COVID-19 pandemic has a multidimensional impact globally and a large number of students are deprived of their education. The Pandemic contributed to closure of more than 90% of world’s schools (Strauss, 2020). Many students in Nepal are experiencing distress due to the lockdown imposed immediately a week before their scheduled exams. Several students are still waiting for the exam schedule. Due to pandemic, those planning for abroad study are either waiting indefinitely or abandoned their plans (Dhungana, 2020). Educational institutes have, however, started online education as an emergency alternative to traditional face-to-face education. As lockdown completed three months government of Nepal and many Universities have formalized online classes. Online classes are flexible for both teachers and students but such classes have their own challenges (Gillett-Swan, 2017). The attention of students and safety issues can be important challenges during online classes (Phuyal, 2020). Also, children from low-income working class cannot join the online class as they often do know have access to a computer of reliable Internet service (Ghimire, 2020; Ojha, 2020). Professors who mostly relied on in-person modalities found the shift to online teaching challenging (Subedi, 2020). Many academicians considered the decision to move quickly to online or virtual class as premature in face of limited infrastructure and training. Some experts also argue that online classes in the Nepalese context are against the spirit of equitable access to education as this deprived right to education of economically marginalized people. Recent coverage by ABC News showed that many students do not consider online classes as equivalent to classroom experiences (Binkley, 2020). Teachers, administrators, and parents have are also questioning the effectiveness of online education. MAIN ARUGMENT Even though all stakeholders of education have concerns regarding the effectiveness of online education in Nepal, they report it differently. Students have four main issues regarding online education. First, they find it difficult to adapt to technology. Students often struggle to post assignments and log on to classes. Second, some students consider online classes as less interactive. For example, one of our students said, “there is more of teacher talking and less of interaction." Third, poor Internet connectivity in many areas of Nepal makes it difficult for students to attend classes and post