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With the entire country on a lockdown, Tribhuvan University (TU) has postponed all its exams until further notice. With regular and partial exams being put off, students are in a dilemma. TU has taken an immediate crisis measure, but has failed to adopt a solid opt-out strategy for the long run. 

Laxmi Bahadur Pachhai, an MBS fourth semester student at Shankar Dev Campus in Kathmandu, says it feels like being chained in one spot, from where you can neither go forward nor backward. Two of his three exams were postponed. “Half a year of hard work seems to be going to waste,” he says. He hopes TU will soon make another decision on exams. 

Different countries are starting to roll back school lockdowns. In Denmark, young children are already in their schools, and Germany intends to partially open its from May 4. At higher levels, many countries have resorted to online classes and exams. However, for TU, Nepal’s oldest and largest public university with nearly 400,000 students, going online is not easy. 

Bidya Nath Koirala, an educationist, suggests that the university should think of alternatives to traditional exams. “It is futile to wait for the situation to normalize. It would be wise to come up with innovative ways on our own,” he says. 

The university can take the help of technology, he suggests. “But, first, the university should assess student access to technology, either by going through its records, or by directly checking with them,” he says. 

“As per an estimate, only five percent of the students enrolled in TU come from ‘poor’ backgrounds. That implies the TU cannot make an excuse that ‘the students don’t have access to technology’,” Koirala adds. 

Despite repeated attempts to contact them, TU officials were not available for comment on the university’s plan to restart stalled classes and exams. 

Online exams are not exempt from complications though. Students can ‘cheat’ and plagiarize due to lack of proper supervision. Koirala acknowledges such a possibility, and suggests preventive measures. “To prevent cheating, we can have more critical and research-oriented questions. Oral examination is also an option.”

There may be some students with no access to technology and devices whatsoever. In that case, “written exams can be conducted or assignments given to a few students who are called to class each day. Later, there can be an oral assessment,” argues Alok Lamsal, a lecturer at Kathmandu-based Ratnarajya Laxmi Campus. “Also, the questions should test comprehension, not student’s memory.”

Lamsal thinks much time has already been wasted. So “rather than halting studies indefinitely, we should be trying to find solutions, however time-consuming the quest maybe,” Lamsal adds.

Online exams aren’t as easy to conduct as online classes. Given our limited broadband connectivity, online exams may be beset with problems. Due to Nepal’s traditional education system, too, regular written exams are still the most suitable to test student competence. According to educationist Koirala, for students in remote villages, taking an online examination may even be impossible. 

“Internet is just a small tool to help with our education. We shouldn’t completely rely on it,” argues Lamsal. And yet in the case the university decides to conduct exams with tech support, going online could an option, if not for everyone. For others, Koirala adds, other means of communication like telephone and radio could be handy.

Uncertainty about exams and studies will have a negative impact on student minds. Koirala fears more about their social and personal impacts in the days ahead. Students get older by the day, and that puts them in a difficult situation. As he puts it, “Girls’ parents start pressing them to marry as they grow older. And for boys, they are under pressure to get a job. When the exams are stalled, they may feel pretty helpless.” 

In Koirala's  view, as education is the foundation of development, delaying studies and exams could be counterproductive for the country. “The TU should realize the gravity of the matter,” he advises.

Laxmi Subedi, a ‘mother’ to 20 adopted children at Mahila Tatha Balbalika Sewa Kendra, Hattigaunda, is worried about her wards’ mental and physical health during the novel coronavirus pandemic. “The virus has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide. As a measure of protection, I too have not let my children out,” she says. Yet Subedi wonders how she will keep them all engaged during the lockdown.

As most of the world has been shut down, parents and children have been confined to the four walls of their homes. In Nepal, too, schools are shut, as are most workplaces. For parents who rarely got an opportunity to spend quality time with their children, this is the chance to make up for lost time.

More often, the children are hooked on to their gadgets. When the devices are confiscated, they start grumbling. But it’s hard to blame the little ones as well. They have been forced into their homes and have had to adopt a completely new timetable. Without their friends, they also feel terribly bored.

“It is exhausting to live without my friends,” says 9-year-old Aarav Tandukar. “On the top of that, my parents don’t give me a mobile phone on which I can play games.”

According to the UN statistics as of March 20, around 1.25 billion children and youths were being deprived of education during the lockdown—and the number must surely have gone up in the interim.

Children are struggling to understand what is going on. “The impact on children differs according to their age. For young children [under 11], they can get irritated when they can’t get out of their homes, which in turn can lead to restlessness and belligerence,” says Kripa Sigdel, a psychological counselor and lecturer at Padma Kanya Campus. For children who are a little older (11-16), TV or mobile phones are their favorite company. “In general, these children are curious, but they can as easily feel lonely, even outraged.”

Without nothing else to do, most children sleep in the day during the lockdown. They then have sleepless nights, which harms their mental health. As the schools are shut, their reading, writing and critical thinking habits are deteriorating. “Idleness hampers with creativity and intelligence of children,” says Sachin Acharya, a teacher at Disneyland Academy, Pokhara.

But this time can also be used to explore creative and productive pursuits. Save the Children in Nepal suggest for the parents of young children collective dancing, turning physical activities like house cleaning into a fun game, and limiting screen time.

“There ought to be clear communication between parents and children. Instead of restricting them, parents should try to make children understand why they cannot go out and why it is important for them to maintain cleanliness,” adds Sigdel, the psychologist.  

Following the closure of schools across the globe, the James Dyson Foundation, which encourages children to take up engineering, has come up with a series of online challenges to help kids learn during home isolation. They have challenges like making a ‘balloon car’ with the use of Newton’s third law of motion and forcing an egg into a bottle.

There are also children-centric online libraries like OLE Nepal’s E-Pustakalaya, the Curriculum Development Center’s library, and the International Children Digital Library (ICDL). Meanwhile, UNESCO is leading a global coalition of over 80 partners to find alternative solutions to ensure learning never stops during the lockdown.

MiDas eCLASS, working in partnership with the Private and Boarding Schools Organization Nepal (PABSON), has designed a teaching and learning software that has tutorial videos and interactive games. It offers free e-learning facilities for children for a month. The app can be downloaded from Play Store.

The problem is that most of the parents are unaware of the availability of these innovative learning solutions for the lockdown.

Physical activity is also a must for children. “If they engage in physical activities during the day, they will be worn out and sleep well during the night,” adds Sigdel. The World Health Organization recommends at least 60 minutes of moderate- to vigorous daily physical activity for children aged 5-17.

In terms of physical activities, “we can involve children in activities like singing, indoor sports, and dancing,” adds Subedi of the children care center at Hattigauda. “We also teach our children kitchen activities and gardening.”

Another important thing is to ensure children stay connected with their friends and colleagues occasionally, and the parents should arrange for it. Otherwise, children may start feeling lonely and develop mental problems.

Likewise, to protect them from pedophiles, it is vital that parents monitor their children’s online activities.

There is no easy way to keep children engaged during these troubling times. But the task need not be impossible either.

Shortage of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or the common cooking gas is often the first thing people worry about in times of crisis. Recently, just before the government announced a nationwide lockdown to control the spread of Covid-19, people rushed to nearby depots to refill or buy gas cylinders. That led to a shortage of LPG.

Nepal Electricity Authority CEO Kulman Ghising has been urging people to use induction stoves/cooktops instead. There is apparently enough electricity for their greater use.

Many folks had also opted for induction stoves when there was another major LPG shortage during the 2015-16 blockade.  

Between LPG and induction stoves, people are still unsure which is more convenient and cheaper. Most families still use LGP, although the use of induction stoves is rising too. Moreover, the government is planning to remove subsidy on LPG and subsidize electricity instead. Last week, it announced 25 percent discount on electricity bills for domestic consumers using up to 150 units. With these developments, induction stoves could gradually replace LPG cylinders.

Electricity is an environmentally friendly and relatively cheaper energy source. Though LPG emits less carbon and other greenhouse gases, it is not altogether clean. An induction stove is cleaner still as it doesn’t release any greenhouse gas.

“Less carbon will be emitted if we start using induction stoves instead of LPG. The supply of electricity has improved as well with many big and small hydropower projects coming into operation,” says Bindu Dev Koirala, a hydro engineer and postgraduate in environmental sciences. Koirala reckons replacing LPG with induction stoves is a viable option, if a few loopholes in electricity supply can be removed. “For instance, electricity is still in short supply in winter months when people use electrical devices like heaters.” 

Reducing national burden

Every year, Nepal spends billions of rupees to import LPG from India. Last year alone, it had imported LPG worth Rs 32.9 billion. Its replacement could thus greatly reduce the country’s trade deficit. “Induction stoves are easy to use, and they come with amazing temperature control systems. For instance, when we boil milk on them, the milk doesn’t spill over as the temperature is controlled automatically,” adds Koirala.

Research suggests induction cooking is significantly more efficient compared to LPG. Food cooked with induction conserves approximately 90 of the heat compared to 50 percent in the case of LPG. Further, induction stoves reduce the risk of burns and accidental fires as there is no open flame.

“I have been using an induction stove since the Indian blockade. Cooking on it is faster and more efficient. It is easy to clean too. We don’t get electric shocks even if something spills over,” says Vishal Gautam, a resident of Pokhara. “Thankfully, the quality of electricity is stable nowadays. The voltage is stable at 200V and there are no power cuts.”

Unlike a flame or an electrical heating wire, induction stoves heat via electrical induction. First, you have to ensure that the cooking vessel is of ferromagnetic metal. Copper or aluminum vessel doesn’t work until they have an additional layer of magnetic material. To check, see if a magnet will stick to the bottom of the vessel.

When the power is on, electric current creates a magnetic field throughout the vessel. Fluctuation in the field makes electric current pass through the vessel, dissipating some of energy in the form of heat. In this way, the vessel is heated.

Still pricey

Despite the benefits, people seem concerned about the price of induction cookers and electricity charges. “I don’t think induction stoves are cheap. Just look at the current electricity tariffs and the power these stoves consume,” says Gautam, the Pokhara resident.  

The costs of induction stoves range from Rs 3,000 to Rs 7,000. But monthly electricity bills are the real pain for middle and lower-income families. On top of that, electricity meters are often outdated. For people living in rented rooms and paying electricity bills by the faulty sub-meters, using induction stoves may come at a high cost.

“We could use induction cookers only if the landlord agrees to install a new sub-meter. Otherwise, it will only increase our financial burden,” says Ganesh Karki from Morang, who currently rents a flat in Kathmandu.

A 2017 World Bank survey suggests a multi-pronged approach to make households adopt clean fuel systems such as electric stoves.

As a promotion, the government has recently waived off customs duty on the import of induction stoves. According to customs data, around 700,000 of them have been imported to date. But these stoves are available only in urban centers.

But as per popular demand, the NEA must lower the rate of electricity and subsidize induction cooktops.

“Besides subsidizing electricity, there should be discounts on the purchase of induction stoves. They obviously have to be cheaper for more people to start using them,” adds Koirala, the hydro engineer.