UNIVERSITY STUDENT’S ATTITUDE TOWARDS VIRTUAL LEARNING DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN NEPAL

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 has put huge impact on our day to day life. Needless to say, the lockdown has hugely affected the education system as well. The purpose of this study was to assess students’ perceptions and attitude toward virtual learning among undergraduate and graduate students of Nepal.

Methods: A web-based cross-sectional study using Google form was conducted among 438 undergraduate and postgraduate students of various universities of Nepal under various academic programs. A structured questionnaire consisting of 15 items (5-point Likert scale) was distributed to the students using Google Form. Data was collected from October 2020 to December 2020. Data was analyzed by using SPSS and analyzed using descriptive statistical tools.

Results: Among 438 students, more than half of the students had a positive attitude towards virtual learning. Most of the students used Zoom as a mode of application in virtual learning. More than one-third of the students found online classes effective only for theoretical subjects rather than numerical and practical subjects. More than 70% of students agreed that virtual learning could be taken as an alternative source for learning in the future. More than half of the students faced the problem of the internet during virtual learning.

Conclusions: The significance of virtual learning is rising as the academic year has been disrupted due to COVID-19. Although online learning is a new method of learning that is being adapted due to COVID-19, the satisfaction level of most of the students was found to be good. The students agreed on using the distance learning approach in the future to enhance their knowledge.