ISSN: 2362-1303 (Paper) | eISSN: 2362-1311(Online)

JOURNAL OF ADVANCED ACADEMIC RESEARCH (JAAR) December 2017

Utilization of Available Facilities of Computer Aided Teaching in

Secondary Level School of Nepal
Bhimsen Giri1 and Megha Raj Dhakal2
1
PhD Scholar, Mewar University, Rajasthan, India,
2
Research Supervisor, Associate Professor, Nobel College, Pokhara University, Kathmandu,
Nepal.

Corresponding Author
Bhimsen Giri
Email: [email protected]

ABSTRACT
Computer aided teaching is modern technical teaching practice which is gradually replacing the
traditional teaching practice by using the blackboard, chalk and duster. Nepalese secondary level
schools are also gradually practicing the computer aided teaching system. The growing
completion of private boarding school also compels to manage such modern facilities to attract
the students. The facilities are comparatively weak in public school because the public school
depends on the government funding. The study measured the utilization practice of available
facilities of computer aided teaching in secondary level school. The study was conducted in Dang
and Pyuthan district of Nepal. In total 578 students were selected from the different schools of two
district by using the simple random sampling. The result shows that there was significant (p =
.019) different between the students of two districts regarding their practice to spend the total days
in a week in computer lab, use of internet in school and types of computer users whereas there
was no difference in use of computer in leisure time and facility of soft copy of reading materials
provided by school. The comparatively, computer and internet use practice is found better in Dang
district than the Pyuthan though in totality, the result of computer aided teaching practice is not
satisfactory. So, the concerned authority of public and private school of both districts should
enhance the capacity of management and teachers to maximize the facilities of computer aided
teaching practice in Nepal.

KEYWORDS
Computer aided teaching, Facilities, Nepal, Secondary, and Utilization

INTRODUCTION
Computer is the latest technological innovation to be applied to education (Sharma & Vohra, 1998,
p. 1). Computer was introduced in Nepal in the year 1972 only. It was introduced by His Majesty’s
government for the population census of 1972 (2028 B.S) Nowadays, Students are given computer
education from school level. Public access on modern communication and technology is increasing
day by day. The data of Nepal shows that access to public or private communication has changed
quite drastically – 50% households have radio, and similar numbers own a TV set, 75% use mobile
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telephone which is a sharp increase from around 6% in 2006 and 9% have non-mobile telephone
(UNESCO, 2015, p. 5).
More recently, however, schools have become interested in using tool software-
applications programs, such as word processing, which can support classroom work ( in this case,
writing), and which have the potentiality of changing the nature of work ( in this case, for example,
toward a greater emphasis on editing and on joint writing projects)(Sharma & Vohra, 1998, p.
162). Students need computers for researching material. Libraries are often extremely time-
consuming, and they are not easily accessible for every student. The Internet is perhaps the most
convenient and efficient method to browse information and analyze its usage. Additionally, most
universities allow their students free access to their Web-based archives. Asking for help from
teachers and other students through email or simply brainstorming ideas is another reason
computers are important for students. Computer has also revolutionized the whole process of
education. Currently, the classrooms, libraries, and museums are efficiently utilizing computers to
make the education much more interesting. Unlike recorded television shows, computer-aided
education (CAE) and Computer Based Training (CBT) packages are making learning much more
interactive ( ITL educational solution, 2009, p. 20).
The history of computer education in Nepal can be traced as early as 1930s, when the
Technical Training Institute was established. It was later reformed as current Institute of
Engineering in 1972. Since then Nepal has stridden gradually in Technical education (Shah,
2012).A computer may be defined as “an electronic machine which is fast and accurate symbol or
data manipulating system. As computer has a lot of applications in almost all fields, their presence
cannot be ignored. People feel comfortable and easy with the presence of computers in the modern
world (Rajasekar, 2007, p. 1). As Kukil stated that computer-based instruction (CBI) is important
to drill, tutor, and test students and to manage instructional programs. In recent years these CBI
programs have been used increasingly in schools to supplement or replace more conventional
teaching methods (1991, p. 75). Phillips has said that the computer acts as delivery system, it
stimulates and motivates the students. It puts demands on the students' to make them active,
creative and exploratory .It is a powerful tool since it puts demands on the students' cognitive
functioning (1985).
In the Nepalese context, infrastructure facilities are poor in secondary level school. All
schools have no adequate facility of computer aided education. Poor school building, lack of
classrooms, unavailability of the textbooks in time, lack of school at proper place and so forth are
physical factors contributing for the poor performance of the community schools. Likewise,
centralized curriculum for the diverse population, monolingual method of instruction, lack of
dedication from teacher’s side, traditional pedagogical strategy in teaching learning, are some of
the educational factors hindering the quality of the public schools. Moreover, poverty and deeply
rooted exclusion of caste, gender and marginalized groups from the society are also contributing
for poor performance (Parajuli & Das, 2013, p. 153). Joshi said accesses of internet is expensive
and more than 80% of the populations are living in remote area and there is no accessible of internet
by which students as well as teachers of that area are not facilitating by it. Infrastructure of schools

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are in traditional types like buildings, rooms, furniture so government should fund for modern ICT
based infrastructure. School staffs and computer teachers have not ideas of brands of computers;
safely use of computer and subject related applications hence related stakeholders should provide
training and awareness program for them(Joshi, 2013).
From the general observation, it can be seen that both public and private schools are
managing the computer. Students are being charged the extra fee for computer class also. So, it is
assumed that there are computer facilities in all school but the question is whether the available
facilities are properly used or not? So, the major research objective of this study is to identify the
utilization practice of available computer facilities in secondary level school.

MATERIALS AND METHOD

The study was conducted in the Dang and Pyuthan districts of Mid-western Region of Nepal. The
both types of public and private secondary levels schools were selected for the study. The students
were the primary respondents of this study to know their practice of using the available computer
aided teaching facilities. The simple random sampling technique was adopted to select the 578
students. Structured questionnaire survey was done to collect the data. The instruments were pre-
tested to ensure the reliability and validity. The final collected data were edited then put in the
statistical software for analysis. The independent sample t-test and Pearson Chi-Square test was
used to identify the differences between the two districts.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

It is said that 'practice makes a prefect man' so only availability of facility is not important but it
should be in proper use for the betterment of learning and performance of students. Stocking of
good cannot be beneficial so the study asked to teachers and students about their practice to use
the available facilities of school.
The study has analyzed the data on the basis of geographical differences of school because
in the context of infrastructure development of Nepal is affected by its geographical variation also.
So, the study aims to identify the effect of geographical location on the availability and utilization
of available facilities of school.

District wise Time spend in computer lab

A computer lab is a space which provides computer services to a defined community. Computer
labs are typically provided by libraries to the public, by academic institutions to students who
attend the institution, or by other institutions to the public or to people affiliated with that
institution. Users typically must follow a certain user policy to retain access to the computers. This
generally consists of the user not engaging in illegal activities or attempting to circumvent any
security or content-control software while using the computers. Table 1 below shows the district
wise time spends in computer lab. Were, there is slight difference in mean value of Dang and
Pyuthan of total days spend in computer lab in a week and it shows the significant relation.
Whereas, there is slight difference in the mean value of Dang and Pyuthan of total hours spend in
computer lab in a week.
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Table 1: District wise Time spend in computer lab
Independent Samples Test
Sig.
(2-
Districts N Mean T df tailed) Result
Total days spend Dang 298 2.5302
in computer lab in 2.344 565.972 .019 Significant
Pyuthan 280 2.2143
a week
Total hours spend Dang 298 2.5362
in computer lab in -1.533 576 .126 Not Significant
a week Pyuthan 280 2.8893
Source: Field Survey, 2017
The independent sample t-test shows that there was significant difference between the
respondents of Dang and Pyuthan district regarding the total days spend in computer lab in a week
whereas there was no difference in total hours spend in a week. There was slightly higher number
of days was spend by the respondent of Dang in computer lab whereas the total hours spend by
respondents were found similar in Dang and Pyuthan district.

District wise Use of Computer

The Table 2 illustrates the district wise use of computers. It clearly describes how the computer
has been used by the students. In survey it was found that in both the district only one computer
has been used in each school by the students. In Dang the maximum percentage (43.6%) which
shows that one computer each has been used by the students similarly, the minimum percentage
(15.4%) which shows that only one computer has been used by maximum students. Contrary to
this, in Pyuthan 34.6% of respondent has said that in this district only one computer has been used
by two students and 20.4% said that only one computer has been used by total three students. In
totality it shows that in both the district only one computer has been used by maximum number of
students.

Table 2: District wise Use of Computer

Districts Total
Dang Pyuthan
Count 130 61 191
One student = 1 computer
% within district 43.6 21.8 33.0
How the Count 102 97 199
Two students = 1 computer
computer % within district 34.2 34.6 34.4
has been Count 20 57 77
Three students = 1 computer
used % within district 6.7 20.4 13.3
More than three students = 1 Count 46 65 111
computer % within district 15.4 23.2 19.2
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Count 298 280 578
Total
% within district 100.0 100.0 100.0
Chi-Square Tests
Value Df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)
Pearson Chi-Square 45.567 3 .000
Source: Field Survey, 2017

The statistical result of Pearson Chi-Square test shows that there was significant association
between the Dang and Pyuthan district regarding the use of computer because P =.000 which is
less than .05 significant levels. In totality, computer facility for student is found comparatively
better in Dang than Pyuthan district. For the effective learning, every student should be provided
one computer during the computer class so that they will have adequate time to learn the computer
skill, use of internet and email, typing skill, design and formatting of documents. The availability
of number of computer depends upon the economic capacity of school also.

District wise Use of computer in leisure time

Table 3 below depicts the district wise use of computer in leisure time. Computer is important for
the students who are more interested to learn about the computer and its use for the learning. There
is double benefit from the use of computer, on the one hand s/he will have good skill of technology
as well as they can prepare the home work, e-copy of reading materials, prepare e-book. In Dang
and Pyuthan district it was found that the student used computer less according to their will which
is 71.5% and 69.3%. It means that the students are only allowed to use the computers as instructed
by their teachers.

Table 3: District wise Use of computer in leisure time

Districts
Total
Dang Pyuthan
Count 85 86 171
Use of computer Yes
% within district 28.5 30.7 29.6
according to the will
Count 213 194 407
of students No
% within district 71.5 69.3 70.4
Count 298 280 578
Total
% within district 100.0 100.0 100.0
Chi-Square Tests
Value Df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)
Pearson Chi-Square .333 1 .564
Source: Field Survey, 2017

The statistical result of Pearson Chi-Square test shows that there was no significant
association between the Dang and Pyuthan district regarding the use of computer by students in
their leisure time because P =.564 which is greater than .05 significant levels. It indicates that there
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was similar practiced of use of computer in leisure time in both Dang and Pyuthan district. The
both districts have similar characteristic from the development perspective.

District wise Use of internet in school

Internet has become an important part of life that most of us use it every day. It is a wonderful
place for studying, communicating, entertaining, working as well as the biggest information source
in the world. Thus, Internet provides many benefits and helps improve living quality of people
everywhere. In this article, Vkool.com will give you useful knowledge about meaning and benefits
of internet, and how you can use internet effectively. Internet is helpful for the students that forgot
work, missed a lecture or couldn't remember an assignment were out of luck until talking face to
face with a teacher or a classmate. However, the Internet allows instantaneous connection to your
classmates and teachers. Improving communication between students and teachers allows teachers
to assist students without having to stay after class. It also allows for students to have greater
efficiency when working on projects with their peers when everyone cannot attend or asking for
clarification when something is unclear. So internet plays an important role in teachers and even
students' life. Table 4 illustrates the district wise use of internet in school where, in both the district
Dang and Pyuthan the facility of internet has not been used as expected i.e 71.5% in Dang and
93.9% in Pyuthan.

Table 4: District wise Use of internet in school

District Total
Dang Pyuthan
Count 85 17 102
Use of Yes
% within district 28.5 6.1 17.6
internet in
Count 213 263 476
school No
% within district 71.5 93.9 82.4
Count 298 280 578
Total
% within district 100.0 100.0 100.0
Chi-Square Tests
Value Df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)
Pearson Chi-Square 50.073 1 .000
Source: Field Survey, 2017

The statistical result of Pearson Chi-Square test shows that there was significant association
between the Dang and Pyuthan district regarding the use of internet in school because P =.000
which is less than .05 significant levels. The use of internet in school was significantly different in
Dang and Pyuthan district. The data shows that internet use practice is found better in Dang district
than Pyuthan though the result is not satisfactory because the internet is important to search the
new knowledge but the access is very low for the student. Student can learn many out knowledge
from the internet so it should be increased in all school. Student should be taught about the proper

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use of internet so that they can do their homework effectively. Innovative knowledge can be gain
from the internet use.

District wise Users of computer in school

Computer is not only important to student but also to the teachers as well. The below Table
5illustrate the time spend by the teacher, student and others in school. In Dang we can see that
more time has been used by the teachers' i.e 37.6% and less time i.e. has been used by others.
Similarly, regarding Pyuthan 47.1% of computers is used by both the teachers and students where,
only 7.5% of computers is been used by others. So in totality we can say that both the teachers and
students are using the computers for different purpose.

Table 5: District wise Users of computer in school

District Total
Dang Pyuthan
Count 112 99 211
Teacher
% within district 37.6% 35.4% 36.5%
Spending Count 66 28 94
Student
more time % within district 22.1% 10.0% 16.3%
in Count 111 132 243
Both
computers % within district 37.2% 47.1% 42.0%
Count 9 21 30
Other
% within district 3.0% 7.5% 5.2%
Count 298 280 578
Total
% within district 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
Chi-Square Tests
Value Df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)
Pearson Chi-Square 22.238 3 .000
Source: Field Survey, 2017

The statistical result of Pearson Chi-Square test shows that there was significant association
between the Dang and Pyuthan district regarding the user of computer in school because P =.000
which is less than .05 significant levels. The result indicates that nature of frequency of computer
users is significantly different in both districts. Student as a user of computer was significantly
higher in Dang district than the Pyuthan though result is not satisfactory because less than 25%
said they spend more time in computer than other. Computer use practice is very important for
student to increase their technical knowledge which will be supporting to earn the better mark in
final exam.

District wise Printed and soft copy of reading materials provided by school
In this 21st century computer plays the vital role in student’s life. Previously only book was the
medium of knowledge but nowadays with the help of computers and internet we can know as many
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things as we like. Technology is developing very fast than we think in today's world many of the
schools are running their education system in computer based due to which the students can easily
get success in their work and even it seems to increase the creativity of the students as because
they can get tremendous knowledge regarding their subjects. The Table 6 depicts the district wise
printed and soft copy of reading materials provided by the school. While doing survey it was found
that in both the district many students said that the school hasn't been provided any type of soft
copy or reading materials i.e. 63.1% in Dang and 56.4% in Pyuthan. Similarly, 36.9% of Dang and
43.6% of Pyuthan students said the school has provided some of the printed or soft copy reading
materials to them.

Table 6: District wise Printed and soft copy of reading materials provided by school
District Total
Dang Pyuthan
Computerized printed Count 110 122 232
Yes
or soft copy of % within district 36.9 43.6 40.1
reading material Count 188 158 346
provided by the No
% within district 63.1 56.4 59.9
school
Count 298 280 578
Total
% within district 100.0 100.0 100.0
Chi-Square Tests
Value Df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)
Pearson Chi-Square 2.664 1 .103
Source: Field Survey, 2017

The statistical result of Pearson Chi-Square test shows that there was no significant
association between the Dang and Pyuthan district regarding the printed and soft copy of reading
materials provided by school because P =.103 which is greater than .05 significant levels. The
response of students shows that there was similar situation in both districts regarding the facility
of e-copy or printed copy of reading materials provided by the school. The result is not satisfactory
because less than 50% reported the facility of soft copy of reading materials.

CONCLUSIONS
The study has explored the utilization practice of computer facilities in secondary level school of
Dang and Pyuthan district of Nepal. Various socio-economic characteristics of these both districts
are very similar so study found the significantly similar types of understanding and knowledge of
computer aided teaching practice among the school teachers and management. Private schools
have slightly better facility of computer aided teaching than the public school but there was no
significant effect of location. The use of computer practice is slightly better in Dang district than
the Pyuthan but use of computer in leisure time and facility of soft copy of reading materials
provided by school was similar in both districts. The internet facility in school of Dang district is
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better than the Pyuthan district. The school management should increase the accessibility of
computer for students to develop the technical skill in student. This is the age of modern
technology so computer aided teaching practice should be improved in secondary level school.
The current computer use practice is not satisfactory in both Dang and Pyuthan district. The
computer skill of teacher should also be enhanced.

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