“Students shouldn’t be forced to pay full fees if teaching is all online.”

Digital education sector has been a burning issue in this COVID – 19 pandemic. Education is one of the areas that have been greatly affected by corona virus pandemic. From running physical classes to virtual classes, education sector has taken a huge jump. But there arises a burning question, should students pay full fees like the physical classes even though teaching is all online? I being a student myself I strongly believe that the universities must give discounts or reduce their fees during this pandemic because students are not using the school resources like physical classroom, school internet, canteen, library, school building, sports ground etc.

Due to this pandemic, instead of the freedom and responsibility associated with the leap into adulthood that university entails, students have arrived to restricted use of facilities, cancelled social events and increasingly confinement in their rooms. The face to face education which is a vital part of higher education has been completely restricted to the students. And yet students are being asked to pay the same education fee as of previous years. This is injustice to whole students’ community. According to survey of 13606 colleges’ students in the United States by study guide platform One Class, more than 93% of US students believe that if classes are fully held online, tuition should be lowered. One class (study guide platform) also found that 75% of college students are unhappy with the quality of online classes and 35% have considered withdrawing from schools. 

I completely disagree with the statement that university should not take any fees of online education. We students understand a lot of hard-work and effort put on by our mentors who are trying their best to teach us even in these difficult times. Regardless of that, our primary concern is that our tuition should be lowered during this online education period. Students in the U.K., who face tuition fees of up to $12500 a year, on top of accommodation and living costs, have been told they have little hope of discount. But in the U.S., where some universities have offered to reduce fees, a survey found that 94% of students said their online classes were not worth the price they had paid. In context of Nepal where most of the students are dependent upon their parents for their school fees, what would Nepalese students do during this pandemic as most of our parents may have lost their job, business and left to be paid by their respective offices? 

In a developing country like Nepal, when parents choose a school for their child, our parents do not invest in the school financially but in many other tangible and intangible ways. It is therefore in everyone’s interest that the quality of education and overall provision offered is maintained to the highest degree possible in the current very challenging situation. Some parents may be financially strong whereas some may be financially weak and not every parent can pay the suggested tuition fee of the schools due to the challenges that we are facing now so schools should take a hard look at what they are spending money on.

Students studying in physical and life sciences programs will not be able to conduct experiments in research labs and learn how to use equipment for future courses.  We students do not have access to any sports activities like football and basketball games, students clubs, access to labs and the library and the out of class conversations that are all part of the typical campus experience.  In my honest opinion students of medical, engineering, social service etc denied the opportunity to take firsthand experience in lab work and the sort of practical hands – on learning that is fundamental to many subjects have perhaps suffered the most. If universities charge fees like internet fees, library charge, transportation, ground maintenance and other administrative charges to students even in the online education period where we have zero access to resources then it will be unfair and injustice to whole students community. Students are not the ones who will bear the economic and financial burden of schools and colleges.

To sum up, before the COVID – 19 pandemic, college students would have in person classes, in person office hours and in person extracurricular activities. However, the pandemic has created an atmosphere where students who have an idea about their future occupation, are learning essential information behind a screen. Students continuously focus on their mobile and laptop screens during the online education. So do universities have right to take full fees even though the college resource have not been used? A student says, “This is not what I signed up for and “The college experience is so much more than sitting in front of a computer”. According to my perspective as a student, the fees should be lowered and should be amended during the online education but after this whole corona virus eradicates and when students will resume their physical classes the university can charge the standard fees like before.