INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Kathmandu, August 20
Though the Ministry of Education has been working to incorporate alternative learning methods into the school
curriculum, only 30 per cent students have access to information and technology for distance learning in Bagmati Province.
With the shutdown
of schools, colleges and universities across the globe due to COVID-19 pandemic, most of the countries have been adopting e-learning via
different electronic devices like radio, television, cell phones and many more.
Nepal has also been working to adopt alternative mechanisms
to conduct teaching learning activities, but that has been difficult due to poor access to the internet and electronic devices of the
students.
Only 30 per cent of students in the Bagmati Province, that boasts of the federal capital, have access to internet facility
Provincial education directorate Director Chandra Prasad Luintel said only 12 students in total 600 students at some schools were reported
having cell phones.
There are 35,601 schools across the country
Though, 75 per cent people have access to internet, 85 per cent to radio and 72 per cent to television in the country, access of students to
such devices is nominal.
The number of cell phone users is 400 million in the country.
According to statistics, there are 5,243 community
schools and 2,145 private schools in the province.
However, most of the students at those schools have no access to mobile phones
Luintel added that self-study materials were published and distributed to students from Grade I to VII, in the province
In a virtual programme organised by the Community School Management Committee Federation, Director, Luintel, said poor internet connectivity
and students lack of access to phones have created difficulties to run the classes.
Different policies should be adopted between students
having access to the internet and those not having internet access to continue the teaching learning activities.
Issuing lsquo;Student
Learning Facilitation Guideline, 2020 through Alternative System last month, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology had asked
schools to implement it compulsorily from August 15, to give continuity to learning activities in an effective and systematic way through
alternative systems.
The Curriculum Development Centre has been doing homework to grant recognition to such learning for the current
academic session as per the guideline
However, students and guardians have not been found practical in such learning activities as learning through alternative systems has not
been recognised so far, while it has been suggested to allocate budget by local levels for free mobile set and internet facility to students
having poor financial status.
Problems have also surfaced in the course of conducting online classes even in Kathmandu valley as most of the
parents did not have smart phones, laptops, computers and internet facilities.
The problem was often compounded by intermittent supply of
Schools across the country have remained closed from March 24 due to the lockdown imposed by the government.
Educationist Dr Bidyanath
Koirala said question has been raised on the recruitment of a large number of teachers at a time when minimum number of students have access
to the alternative system of education.
A version of this article appears in e-paper on August 21, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.
The post
Only 30 per cent students have access to IT in Bagmati Province appeared first on The Himalayan Times.
