Curriculum Development Center (CDC) Started Homework to Calculate Online Education in the Academic Session:
Homework has been started to prevent the academic session from being wasted when this year's student enrollment and regular classes could not be conducted due to COVID-19. After the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology instructed the concerned bodies to do the homework, the learning continuity of the alternative system, which has been going on since 1st Ashad 2077 (15th June 2020), is being prepared to be counted in the current academic session. At today's meeting of the Curriculum Development and Evaluation Council, Minister for Education, Science, and Technology Giriraj Mani Pokhrel has directed the Curriculum Development Center (CDC) to do homework on all the options for the academic session damaged due to COVID-19.
After the lockdown was lifted, the government was preparing to enroll students on the 1st of Bhadra 2077 (17th August 2020) and reopen the school about two weeks later, as the risk of coronavirus increased; Currently, there is an option to recognize the study of alternative mediums including online. But since there is no access to online or distance education in all parts of the country. As the alternative system is not effective, the local level and the school management committee have decided to re-operate the school in the places where there is no health risk.
At present, there are about 35,000 schools and 8 million students up to class 12 at the school level. In the curriculum format 2076 BS in school education, there is a provision of 576 working hours and 18 teaching hours in elementary child development, 832 working hours in class 1 to 3, 26 teaching hours, and 1,024 working hours in class 4 to 10. Today's meeting has given a mandate to the council for amending the provision or other necessary homework.
Director-General of the Center, Keshav Dahal, said that he would submit suggestions with alternatives within a year after consulting the experts and his concerned departments. He also mentioned that learning should be included in the current academic session by adding the continuity of learning from the beginning of the current alternative system. The Ministry of Education has also formed a task force led by Joint Secretary and Spokesperson Deepak Sharma to ensure that the academic session is not wasted.
The Government of Nepal has decided to conduct student enrollment, educational and other examinations from 1st Bhadra onwards in compliance with the approved public health and safety standards by the same 5th Shrawan meeting of the Council of Ministers. The spokesperson of the present government, Minister for Finance and Communications and Information Technology, Dr. Yuvraj Khatiwada, had given the information on Tuesday.
Earlier, the government had instructed the teachers to go to the respective schools to prepare for the operation of the school and not to waste the term of the academic session.
The ‘Student Learning Facilitation Guide from Alternative System, 2077’ issued by the Ministry of Education on 18th Jeshta, stated that teaching through radio, FM radio, television, online, self-study, and offline should be implemented from 1st Ashad.
The Corona Prevention High-Level Coordinating Committee had decided to close all the schools including the examinations on 5th Chaitra, 2076 (18th March 2020) after the Ministry of Education had completed all the preparations for conducting Secondary Education Examination, Class 10 (SEE).
The ministry had requested to be ready for the facilitation of the educational activities of the schools that are closed due to COVID-19 two years ago in order to facilitate the educational activities of the schools in accordance with the standards of public health and safety.
If the results of the academic session 2076 are yet to be published, the results will be published, new students will be enrolled from 1st Bhadra 2077 and the numerical details of the students will be ascertained in the classroom. The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology had decided to make arrangements for the school teachers to reach the school for conducting the educational activities of the school and to issue the working framework for the re-operation of the school.
Similarly, quarantine and isolation work should not be carried out in school buildings and premises, school buildings that are no longer used as quarantine and isolation should be cleaned at the local level as per prescribed standards and made suitable for teaching and learning. It was decided not to have any structure related to prevention and control.
Private and residential schools have also been complaining that alternative learning has not been counted in the academic session so far.
