Students' Perception Towards Online Learning at University During COVID-19 in Nepal

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the closure of educational institutions worldwide. The study reports the students' perception of online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research was constructed using a descriptive research design. Data were obtained from the 225 students of Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu University, Purbanchal University, Pokhara University, and RajarshiJanak University through simple random sampling techniques and entered into SPSS version 20 for the analysis. The result revealed that online learning was less effective than physical learning. The majority of respondents, 69% a teach university, state that online learning was less effective than physical learning. In contrast, 19% believe it was more successful, and 12% believe it was the same. It is probably due to a lack of genuine engagement and feelings of isolation that impeded online learning. However, M. Phil. and Ph.D. students were enthused about online learning. They considered online learning to be precious. It also found that students at Kathmandu University felt online learning was beneficial. Several elements, including teachers, students, management, and government legislation, influence online learning success, particularly pandemics.

Students’ Perceptions of ESP Online Pedagogy during COVID-19 and Pedagogical Transitions in a Nepali University: Case Studies and Embedded Action Research

“…The reason behind is the hugely and diff erently aff ected student populations in Nepal (UNESCO, 2020). However, these fi ndings are more generalizable in the context of tertiary level students coming from middleand high-income families, for they, with their higher aff ordability of and accessibility to reliable power supply, internet connection and technological devices, benefi tted fairly more from OTL (Chaudhary et al, 2022;Sah, 2021) and BTL. This means a nation-wide, multilayered, heavy scale survey and study would represent the broader Nepali context.…”

“…In Nepal's case, because proper planning and technological infrastructures seriously lacked (Dawadi et al, 2020;, what posed protuberant challenges were, among others, recurrent power outage, no or slow internet connection, lack of online teaching skills and resources, and lack of NELTA learning devices (laptops, etc. )-mostly in case of young learners (Khati & Bhatta, 2020;Khatiwada, 2020;Sah, 2021). These problems, with the pandemic threats in the background, signifi cantly contributed to temporary or indefi nite closures of most schools and universities in the country during 2020 -2021 (Dawadi et al, 2020;Karki et al, 2021).…”

“…However, according to Dawadi et al (2020), independently well-equipped stakeholders (private and community schools, colleges, and universities plus their teachers and students), except in situations of power cuts and internet disconnections, benefi tted from the shift to online teaching-learning (OTL). This was more so in higher education (Sah, 2021). These fi ndings are also backed up by the sudden increase in internet penetration (by 3 million) in the country, mostly through mobile connections (Kemp, 2020).…”

Students’ Perceptions towards Online Learning in the Upper East Region

“…Heavy investment to buy laptops, mobile phones, tablets, computers and internet bundles also affect students' participation in online learning. Lack of time management and little freedom are challenges of online learning ( Sah, 2021).…”