Experiences and Practices of School during COVID-19 Pandemic

 Introduction

Shree Bagdevi Secondary School is located at Mandandeupur-12, Jyamdi, Kavre, around 50 kilometres away from Kathmandu. It is one of the leading schools of the municipality and also the leader school of wand number 12. At present, 18 teachers serve at the school and more than 400 students are enrolled in the academic year 2078 BS.

At the outset, it is important to talk about the background of the situation before describing the experiences and practices of the school during the COVID-19 pandemic. The government of Nepal decided to close community and private schools across the country from the 5th of Chaitra 2076, after the COVID- 19 began to have a global impact. The government announced a nationwide lockdown on the 11th of Chaitra 2076. As a result, most of the teachers travelled to their home town whereas the students were compelled to be locked inside. In those difficult circumstances, the school administration had to be closed as well.

Here, I have made an attempt to shed light on all the activities done by the school since the outbreak of COVID-19 in reference to the circulars and directives by the government and decisions made by the School Management Committee itself.

Our First Attempt to Live with the Pandemic

Mandandeupur Municipality, Education, Youth and Sports department issued a circular to publish the results by the end of Jestha,2076 B.S. It was not welcomed by many at that moment because travelling was not allowed without a pass. However, the decision had to be followed. Some local teachers and the headteacher gathered at school to prepare the results of the final examination. The teachers who were far from the school sent the marks through social media and email. While publishing the results, Parents were also informed through social media and results were posted in the school’s catchment area. The students were informed about the result through phone calls and a copy of each class's result was posted on all the localities. Each teacher was assigned the job of talking to the parents about the grades secured by the students in the final examination. Almost all the students were informed about their results and some of them were worried about the continuation of their classes. In the meantime, another circular from the government was published and it allowed the stationery shops to open and sell the books. All the schools were asked to make admissions and distribute the books to the students.

Student Admission Program

From 22, Jestha 2077 BS, we started admission of students in the physical presence of parents at school. We were very excited to find all the parents enthusiastic about their children’s admission. We again published a notice with a separate schedule for each village in order to avoid any kind of crowd at school. Until that time there were no cases of COVID around the catchment area of our school. We telephoned the students who were out of their hometown and asked them to come back if possible. After conducting the admission campaign for more than 10 days, we started distributing books to the students who were enrolled. The students who were not enrolled also started to get enrolled by and by seeing their friends coming back home with new books. The school administration also invited all the School Management Committee members to school and always entertained their constructive feedback. All the other stakeholders provided their inputs regarding safety measures and possible ways to facilitate the students. Some guardians helped us with maintaining physical distance and also provided some precautionary tips to the students. All the students received their textbooks and we paved a way forward to facilitate the students using alternative methods.

In the first phase of alternative facilitation, the school administration called all the local teachers and shared some ideas about designing worksheets. The teachers who were not able to travel to school were also instructed to design worksheets. All the worksheets were collected, printed and distributed to the students at their doorsteps. Some parents were happy to know about the campaign of the school but many of them didn't pay any attention to it. The problem with most of the stakeholders was they were waiting for the schools to open. They were not aware of their responsibilities.

ICT Training for Teachers

The use of ICT is one of the essential skills to have in modern days particularly for teachers. People have started talking about MALL (Mobile Assisted Language Learning) and CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) these days. Video conferencing apps are mushrooming and teachers at present must be able to use them.

 After the students were enrolled, the teachers demanded training in basic computer skills. The headteacher facilitated the teachers with various skills of computer. Most of the teachers started from the beginning by turning on and shutting down the laptops. The first few days were very difficult but after being accustomed to the basics they were able to create their own emails. The teachers also learned about other google applications like Docs, Drive and Forms. There were sessions about using video-conferencing apps like ZOOM and Google Meet. Altogether 14 teachers were trained for a month and at the end of the training, the teachers were able to prepare school results on Microsoft Excel and lesson plans on PowerPoint. The training was observed by the Ward chairman and he was very impressed with the efforts made by the school administration.

Survey on Availability of Electronic Devices

In collaboration with Ward Education Committee, the school administration decided to conduct a survey about the availability of electronic tools in the catchment area. We developed a form where we included questionnaires about the availability of Television, Radio, Computer, Internet and Mobile phones.  Teachers were assigned to collect information through the home visits and it was done in a week. The result of that survey indicated that there was no possibility of online classes in our area. From the findings, we were almost sure that homeschooling or home visit was the best alternative. The mobile phone was accessible to many of them but the phones were not suitable for watching videos and internet surfing. Nepal Telecom's network was found very poor in most of the areas. The students were not able to access learning materials available on the internet due to a very poor network. Overall, we were disappointed with the results and we had very limited alternatives with us. We prepared a report based on the responses and handed a copy to the Ward office so that they could also make an analysis of the people of the locality.

Establishment of Alternative Learning Centres

After almost three months of strict lockdown, the government issued a circular including an idea of ‘homeschooling’. According to the directive, Alternative learning centres had to be established and teachers were instructed to work from where they were during that time. Parents were given a huge responsibility of facilitating the children in their study. 

In the meantime, we also established seven temporary learning centres in five different localities. Teachers were assigned to facilitate the students every morning and students were provided with worksheets and other learning materials. Some audiovisual materials were provided to the teachers so that the students could learn in an entertaining environment. Parents, however, were hesitant to send their children to those learning centres in the beginning. Later on, few students attended but we as a team decided not to continue those temporary learning centres.

In terms of effectiveness, this program seems to have failed in all places of Mandandeupur Municipality. There is no way to blame only one party for the failure of this program. Students could not get the opportunity to learn because the teachers did not have enough materials. Although the teachers could have downloaded video materials on their mobile phones so that the students would have shown some interest in joining the classes but unfortunately they also failed to do so. On the other hand, it was very difficult to manage the students due to the rainy season. The teachers used some students’ houses to facilitate but it was not a wise decision in terms of maintaining a physical distance. The students were asked to wear masks but small children did not follow the instructions. Another problem was that the teachers had to walk around two hours to visit the learning centres and it was obviously more difficult due to the extremely bad condition of the road and there was a risk of landslides as well. Overall, it was not an effective way to facilitate the students through temporary learning centres.

After two weeks of trying out temporary learning centres, an SMC meeting was called at school and we all reached the conclusion that learning should be resumed at school. We made a plan and asked for the permission of the Ward Chairman. He consented and we started shift wise face to face facilitation at school. It didn’t seem to be a wise decision in the beginning but other schools in the Municipality also followed the same kind of model. A health desk was set up at school and the students were instructed to follow all the precautions. It was going well for around three weeks and the Municipality officials intervened. The school was closed again. 

Radio Education Program

In collaboration with Radio Namobuddha in Dhulikhel, Mandandeupur Municipality and Eco Himal Nepal, tried to facilitate compulsory subjects for students from classes 6 to 10 every evening. For the program, recorded programs were aired by mobilizing teachers working in schools within the municipality. Although the teachers worked hard during the rainy season, the radio program did not seem to be successful. The teachers did not study the effectiveness of radio in the community and the students did not use it as an opportunity and the alternative learning task force formed in the municipality could not hold a single meeting. The task committee could have talked to the teachers from different parts of the municipality and make plans for the forthcoming days. They were merely complaining about the teachers sitting at home but could not suggest any way out. Although radio was an important medium of alternative learning, it was largely one-sided, and the lack of interaction and communication, which is an important part of teaching-learning, also reduced students' interest. It seems that a radio program can be successful only if it is able to broadcast live radio programs and teach by interacting over the phone.

School Resumed with all Students

After the long vacation of Dashain and Tihar, we started face to face classes on a regular basis. Almost all the schools did the same during that time. We had already conducted our first terminal examination before the vacation so, after Tihar, it was easier for us to conduct another examination. Everything was going well until the month of Chaitra, 2077 and all of a sudden, another variant of COVID affected many people. We were asked to conclude the academic year as early as possible. SEE examination was cancelled and again the students were in dilemma. This year, the government made decisions a bit quicker than the previous year so, the result of SEE has already been published through internal evaluation.

We started the academic year 2078 from Ashad 1 2078.  This year also we admitted students like we did last year. Students were given a schedule for their admission and they did accordingly. We have already distributed books and have called the students into two groups. The first group turns up at 10 and leave at 1 and the second group stays at school from 1 to 4. We have maintained physical distance and have not allowed the students without masks. The students bring water bottles and are not allowed to eat tiffin at school. We check the temperature every day and send the suspected ones back home. We also talk to the parents and stakeholders regularly about the possible risks and situations of the localities.

Role of Parents and the Local Government

Procedures and guidelines issued by the Government of Nepal during the lockdown have made parenting a very important aspect of alternative learning. Although the concept of homeschooling was expected to create a learning environment at home and monitor the activities of students in radio and television programs, the role of parents, especially in rural areas, seemed disappointing. As the role of parents was not positive in the catchment area of Bagdevi Secondary School, the students could not benefit from the programs aired on Nepal Television. There was no monitoring of the use of worksheets sent by the school and not doing homework. The fact that teachers do not respond positively to phone calls and do not communicate with interest about students confirms that parents are not responsible. Parents were not found responsible for the excessive use of mobile phones by children.

The practice of federalism has given ample opportunities to the local government to prove their worth in the pandemic. In the first phase of the lockdown, the local government provided the schools with buckets and soaps. It was helpful to the students in temporary learning centres to wash hands. Later on. the municipality office provided masks and sanitisers to run the school in the physical presence of the students. However, in terms of proper planning and monitoring, the local government should have done better. They were clueless about preparing materials and did not make any progress on providing fibre internet to the schools. It was a good opportunity to make the schools digital and train the teachers with digital literacy. The local government failed in this aspect.

The Effect of COVID-19 on Students

Covid 19 has invaded the world, the students were not left untouched by it. Students were at risk of labour exploitation due to being at home for a long time. After receiving information from the catchment area of ​​the school that some students had gone to work with their parents in brick kilns in Bhaktapur, the school administration tried to stop them but the parents did not want to come in contact. As a result, 11 students of the school were dropped out.

The students who were preparing for SEE felt that their hard work of the year was wasted. The situation of the students studying in class 12 was no different. Students in the upper classes were found to be addicted to mobile games and ignored by their parents even when contacted. It was found that the students did not pay attention to reading due to digital addiction.

Most of the students were disappointed after the government decided to publish the SEE results from the internal assessment. They felt that their self-esteem was hurt so they were unhappy that the results were published. On the other hand, after the decision was taken to conduct the Class 12 examination through a forty per cent internal assessment, the students responded that it had at least paved the way for study at the campus level.

A worrying factor created by this situation is, the quality of education is just going down. The students are not taught according to the demand of the curriculum. They are upgraded by so-called internal evaluation. If it is done following all the guidelines, the students will feel that it is an injustice to them as they have not been facilitated well. However, the students who are upgraded now, have a huge responsibility on their shoulders. It is likely to create a huge gap in the whole system of the country. A scientific evaluation is what we need today. If not checked now, it will be a disaster, particularly in our education system.

The Way Forward

The global pandemic is still on and we have not been allowed to open schools on a regular basis. At the moment, we have been running classes in two shifts every day. The students are divided in two groups. Large classes with more than forty students are divided into two classes to maintain physical distance. Teachers use multimedia in most of the classes so that the students understand better. Smart TV is installed in every class and wireless internet is also available. Project work is focused these days and the students complete the tasks individually.

We have always tried to work together with our parents and we have contacted them regularly. We have distributed CUG sim cards and it is easier to call the parents now. We are not able to conduct extra-curricular activities so students are given project works to bridge the gap. The school administration is planning to use the library for enhancing students' reading habits. If the schools are completely closed again then we are planning to facilitate through a CUG conference call.

COVID -19 is a blessing in disguise if we can make progress in digital literacy for teachers and students. Classes of grade 12 are online through ZOOM and students' attendance is also increasing. Teachers are learning to make worksheets and PowerPoint slides in their leisure time. Parents also have opportunities to hand over their skills to the children. They can teach their children traditional handicraft skills. It is the best time for promoting local skills and culture as well.

Teachers are blamed for not doing anything during the pandemic and everyone has to remember that this is not the last pandemic. We might face several others like the COVID-19 so it is necessary to make preparations for alternative methods of facilitation. Recorded classes can be useful for future use and every school should be asked to make their own plans to overcome the pandemics. Students should be at the centre of attention and learning should not stop irrespective of any condition. The school administration is hopeful that all the stakeholders have learned a lesson due to this pandemic that it is important to make proper plans to overcome the situations like COVID-19. By the grace of God, let us hope that we don't have to face a similar situation. Everyone must keep in mind; hope for the best and prepare for the worst.