Digital Disconnect

An Analysis of Equity and Social Justice in Nepal’s Higher Education

Authors

  • Som Nath Ghimire
  • Upaj Bhattarai
  • Jyotshna Rajbhandari

Keywords:

Access; COVID-19; disadvantaged students; higher education; inequalities; remote learning

Abstract

 The COVID-19 pandemic brought a colossal challenge around the world, affecting all sectors of human affairs, including higher education. Due to a prolonged health crisis, colleges and universities in Nepal adopted online/remote teaching as an emergency response mechanism. Against this backdrop, this study examines remote teaching and learning practice and its efficacy and impacts on disadvantaged students in Nepal. Adopting semi-structured phone/online interviews with university students, we highlight the challenges of disadvantaged students’ unequal participation in higher education. It is argued that disadvantaged students in Nepali higher education have been profoundly impacted by the lack of digital preparedness and the dearth of proper student support and motivation mechanisms. If unprepared for effective responses, this can adversely affect students’ participation in higher education, engagement in learning, and completion of the university course cycle. Implications of the research findings are discussed concerning higher education systems’ justice and democratic values.

How to cite in APA:

Ghimire, S. N., Bhattarai, U., & Rajbhandari, J. (2022). Digital disconnect: An analysis of equity and social justice in Nepal’s higher education. In E. J. Valeau, R. L. Raby, & U. Gaulee (eds), Shaping a humane world through global higher education: Pre-challenges and post-opportunities during a pandemic (pp. 69-84). STAR Scholars.

Author Biographies

  • Som Nath Ghimire

    Som Nath Ghimire is an MPhil Scholar in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Education at the Nepal Open University, Nepal. A former journalist and poet, Ghimire also holds an M.A. in English from Tribhuvan University, Nepal. He has taught the English language and literature in schools and colleges for about 10 years. His research interests include open and distance learning, educational rights, language policy and politics in education, media, surveillance, and culture. Email: somnghimire@gmail.com

    ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2831-0847

  • Upaj Bhattarai

    Upaj Bhattarai, an MPhil Scholar at Nepal Open University, Nepal is the Program Director at Community Solutions Initiative. He worked on an EU-funded project in Karnali, Nepal as a coordinator for the quality improvement of early grade children. He previously worked as Operations Director in Next Generation Nepal, a US-based INGO, and designed and implemented multiple projects soon after the massive earthquake of April 2015. He has over six years of experience in community development, focusing on Education, Protection, and Livelihood. He has an M.A. in International Relations from the University of Northampton and an M.A. in English from Tribhuvan University. Email: upajbhattarai@gmail.com

  • Jyotshna Rajbhandari

    Jyotshna Rajbhandari, an MPhil Scholar at Nepal Open University, Nepal is a lecturer at Madan Bhandari Memorial College and St. Lawrence College, Kathmandu. She has worked as an EFL teacher for 5 years and desires to contribute to developing ICT-integrated teaching strategies in EFL. Email: jostnow043@gmail.com

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Published

2022-07-01

Issue

2022: Shaping a Humane World Through Global Higher Education: Pre-Challenges and Post-Opportunities During a Pandemic

Section

Shaping a Humane World Through Global Higher Education (Published)

How to Cite

Digital Disconnect: An Analysis of Equity and Social Justice in Nepal’s Higher Education. (2022). Comparative & International Education Series, 69-84. https://ojed.org/cies/article/view/5038