Lockdown and education in Nepal
Like other countries, Nepal has faced many problems in this pandemic situation. Nepal has also been in lockdown since March 23rd and no one knows when it will end. Due to that, the impact of COVID-19 on education is likely to be huge. In the context of Nepal, the SEE exam, which is considered to be a big one for the students, has been shifted indefinitely and it is not known when it will take place and when the students will take the exam. The SEE exam is considered as the iron gate of student life and is administered under NEB as a national level important exam. Apart from SEE, many other exams like HSEB, Bachelors, Masters level exams have been postponed indefinitely. Therefore, the schedule of education is disturbed due to COVID-19.
According to UNICEF, about 1.54 billion children and young people are now living at home due to COVID-19. Many countries have converted schools and colleges into online learning platforms. Everything has a negative as well as positive aspects. COVID-19 and lockdown are big challenges in every sector. In education, it can be taken as a challenge as well as a grand opportunity to improve our education system. We can rather take this problem as an opportunity for shaping a better future.
This is the age of modern science and technology, online or digital classes is major practices in developed countries. In the context of Nepal internet is one of the problems faced by us. Some private and government educational institutions have started online classes which do not seem to be possible and effective in rural areas. Some private educational institutions are pressuring their students to take online classes admission which is the plan for commercial purpose. This is not ethical because not every level of students has access to technology. In order to solve such problems, the various alternative should be taken into consideration and the best and appropriate solution should be selected. Some of the suggestion to overcome the impact of COVID-19 in education can be:
- It is necessary to give more priority to change the traditional education system. COVID-19 has made it possible as students are learning through the use of the internet.
- Online classes and exam is not only the solution to look after. We should also understand and respect the psychological aspect of students.
- University can also measure the performance of students by assigning them with the task which can contribute to society.
- Focus on creativity rather than credit hours.
