Prolonged lockdown and academic uncertainties in Bangladesh: A qualitative investigation during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The erratic nature of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) forced the Bangladeshi government to shut down all the educational institutions since March 18, 2020. This prolonged closure not only detached the students from their study but also increased anxiety among them regarding their future academic as well as professional careers. The present study aimed to explore the perception and understanding of the students and teachers regarding the impact of COVID-19 on the academic life and career pursuit of university students in Bangladesh. With a semistructured interview schedule, data for this qualitative study were collected from 8 purposively selected participants, using telephone interviews, affiliated with a public university in Bangladesh. Students argued that the extended closure is responsible for the delayed graduation of the senior students, thereby, mounting mental stress and frustration among them. The informants unequivocally opposed the online education platform, as a solution for the ongoing gap, due to scarcity of the resources, and unequal accesses and opportunities for all. It has been suggested that the education gap can be reduced by shortening the term, curtailing the preparatory leave, and taking extra classes over the weekends when the universities reopen together with enforced collective health hygiene.

Challenges of online education /distance learning for university students during the COVID-19 pandemic: An observation from Bangladesh

“…One of the major issues prompting the potential pessimist attitude towards OE/DL among students in Bangladesh is the nancial constraints (Ela et al, 2021;Mamun et al, 2020). The COVID-19 pandemic has been affecting not only the mental well-being of people, but also threatening the means of livelihood, especially in the developing and less developed countries, by reducing income, increasing unemployment and by bankrupting the small and medium-sized businesses (El Keshky et al, 2020;Pak et al, 2020).…”

“…The COVID-19 pandemic has been affecting not only the mental well-being of people, but also threatening the means of livelihood, especially in the developing and less developed countries, by reducing income, increasing unemployment and by bankrupting the small and medium-sized businesses (El Keshky et al, 2020;Pak et al, 2020). In Bangladesh, a lower-middle income country (Bhattacharya & Khan, 2019), the lower and lower-middle income families are also struggling nancially and could not afford the basic necessities (Ela et al, 2021).…”

“…A qualitative investigation on both teachers and students in Bangladesh revealed that the nancial constraints limited the access to and use of both digital devices and internet connectivity for university students, particularly in remote rural areas. The study further added that university students often struggle during OE/DL, especially in the practical classes where a face-to-face interaction with both teachers and classmates would be a tting solution (Ela et al, 2021). Based on these empirical underpinnings, the error covariances were correlated.…”

“…The unexpected switch from traditional 'lecture theatre-based' education to OE/DL during the ongoing health emergency led to a 'shock and tension' (Lassoued et al, 2020) among teachers, students, and parents, largely due to individual, institutional, organizational, pedagogical, nancial as well as technical di culties (Abuhammad, 2020;Al-Balas et al, 2020;Almaiah et al, 2020;Béché, 2020;Lassoued et al, 2020). Studies suggesting that both teachers and students, particularly in developing countries, could not adjust to the transition from traditional 'face-to-face' teaching-learning to OE/DL (Ela et al, 2021;Rannastu-Avalos & Siiman, 2020), largely because of the existing educational inequalities between sexes, between rural and urban areas, between poor and rich people (Béché, 2020). Moreover, the absence of 'shock resilient' pedagogical resources in schools, colleges, and universities, as well as the presence of multiple online platforms together with a sheer lack of technical know-how for both ends made it more di cult for the educators and educands to ensure the continuity of equal, quality, and all-inclusive education for all (Bashitialshaaer et al, 2021;Béché, 2020;Lassoued et al, 2020;Rannastu-Avalos & Siiman, 2020).…”

“…A wide range of factors is contributing as major impediments to the success of OE/DL as an alternative to traditional teaching and learning to continue education during the pandemic. However, there are only a handful of studies aimed at identifying the underlying challenges of OE/DL for university students in Bangladesh (Al-Amin et al, 2021;Ela et al, 2021). Thus, an intensive study focusing mainly on unearthing the underlying obstacles for university students to participate in OE/DL is needed.…”