By Manjima Dhakal

Kathmandu, May 3: There is a popular troll on social media regarding government plan to run online classes for school students. It literally reads, “A plan is underway to run online classes for students here where the citizens have to climb trees or hang their mobile phones by the trees to get Internet signals.”
This, of course, comes as a big satire at the tall talks of the authorities to run virtual classes when opening academic institutions has become uncertain due to coronavirus fear.
Virtual education has become a hot issue after schools across the country have remained closed for over one-and-a-half months forcing over 7 million students to stay indoors.
The government has been planning different models of education, especially virtual education for making children engaged in academic activities, but common people, guardians as well as other stakeholders have been divided over the plan stating that Internet and required technology are beyond the reach of many poor students.
The government has been discussing and planning for distance education through different tools like Internet, television, radio and from other mediums. However, many stakeholders of education have been arguing that online classes would create a disparity in the society, hence it is not practical.
Rita Tiwari, headmaster of Padma Kanya Secondary School, Kathmandu, said though optimum use of technology was essential in any difficult situation like the present one, the government had to be serious in maintaining equality while introducing any alternative scheme.
However, Bidhya Nath Koirala, an educationist, said creating an environment for all children to study from whatever tools or mediums would be justifiable in this situation.
After the government decision to engage students in their studies online, many universities and private schools have already started running online classes. But many college students are worried as they have no access to Internet.
Asal Gaire, a Bachelor level student of Saptagandaki Multiple Campus, Chitwan, who is in Baglung now, said many students of his college were unable to attend classes by buying expensive data for Internet. This is a case that shows online classes are not viable for many from technological as well as financial viewpoints, he added.
According to Nepal Telecom, about 72 per cent population in Nepal have an access to telecommunication.
However, the government has a different view regarding distance education.
Minister for Education, Science and Technology Giriraj Mani Pokharel said alternative ways to run academic classes in this critical situation could never be an alternative to mainstream education. “The government has been preparing these all only to engage the children in academic activities when they are staying at home.”
He further made it clear that the government had never focused only on Internet. “School children could learn from their appropriate medium like Internet, television and radio as the government has been planning to use these mediums to run classes,” he said.
It is said that the government has been holding talks with different television networks and Dish Home to run virtual classes and asking the telecom companies to offer facilities of data to the needy students.
“The federal government will ask local governments to reach the students after the former manages

contents and medium of delivering classes as the local governments have the right to handle school education,” Minister Pokharel said.
The problems are now only in school level students as university students could do self-study and many college students could manage Internet on their own, Minister Pokharel added.
Though stakeholders have been divided over the government planning, many private schools have already started online classes. However, a few guardians suspect whether the private schools are running classes to charge extra fees from students.
The private schools’ initiative to offer education to children online is appreciable but the private schools cannot charge any extra fees from guardians for offering such classes, Minister Pokharel said.