Bridge Education Gap

The word “technology” and its implications hang in the tip of everyone in today’s world. Never before in human history has there been such a buzz about how tech can impact, enhance, or corrupt the human way of life. In the midst of all the talk, there also exists a concern about technology and its impact on the young students of the present day. The scenario for the education of the generation has completely changed within the span of a couple of years. While mobiles and other devices were discouraged and banned in the majority of Nepali classrooms only a couple of years ago, today their use is promoted in classrooms. 

The inclusion of technology in education has multitudes of significance for the young minds studying there. This can extend both ways to the negative and the positive. The positives include the chance for education to be personalised to a student's preferred manner and pace of learning, access to a digital library of unlimited educational resources, and increasing digital literacy in young students. Students need to be taught about the latest developments in the fields of technology, artificial intelligence, and blockchains so that they are updated on what’s happening around them and how it can impact their future. 

Likewise, it is also necessary for them to be knowledgeable about the methods for internet safety and the need for privacy on the internet. On the other hand, a couple of negatives include the waning attention spans of children, overdependence on tech devices, and the significance of the physical setting in education. One crucial aspect of the promotion of technology in the classroom is the fading away of handwritten notes and everything that it constitutes. 

In a large number of exclusive schools in the valley, especially above intermediate levels, making notes in electronic devices is actively promoted. This stands against multiple studies that show that handwritten notes help in retention of studied ideas and also improve memory and concentration. Far from the general advantages and disadvantages of the inclusion of technology, there lies a greater problem in the context of Nepal. While technology is being incorporated into the classrooms in the developed city areas at an ever-quickening pace, the same cannot be said for the schools that lie in the rural hinterlands.

This creates a wide disparity between the quality of education that the two sets of students receive. While the students studying in classrooms with modern technologies have an opportunity for an in-depth understanding of the rapid developments in the tech world, other students without access to such resources fall behind in their education. Engagement with the technology is required for students to know how to operate and understand it. If such opportunities are not provided, then it automatically creates a gulf between the two sets of students. To create such disparity is not intentional on the part of the government, but nevertheless it is apparent as being caused by policy mismanagement and insufficient attention to the intricacies of such policy practice.  

While the government has guaranteed equal access to education for every child across the country, equity is often seen to be missing when the guarantees are put into practice. This ranges from access to classroom materials such as books to other essential classroom equipment. The case of unavailability of books in rural classrooms has been well known in Nepal, and news concerning it makes headlines every year. Lately, there have been some improvements regarding the timely availability of study materials, but underneath every small improvement that the government seems to make lurks other incompetencies in terms of policy and practice. 

It is the same case for computer resources and other technology-related resources. Another practice that works against equity is the division of budget for the guarantee of resources in education. The areas that are in most need of such resources receive a budget that is in contrast to their actual needs. Division of budget and monetary resources must be made with equity in mind and not equality. Various nonprofit organisations do recognise and work on covering the gap that lies between students with access to resources and those without them. Donation is one of many methods that such organisations use to help the schools and students in remote areas of the country. 

Many organisations regularly conduct book donation campaigns or computer donation campaigns throughout the rural areas and also conduct training for instructors at schools. Other organisations like Teach For Nepal work hand in hand with the government to place qualified teachers in schools that are lacking in trained human resources. It is true that significant effort is being made throughout the country to lift students from remote areas, but at the same time the disparity exists between the students from developed areas and remote areas of the country.