Globally, as of 1 June 2020, the closure of the educational institution in 144 countries

affected 1.2 billion students (68 percent of the total number of students enrolled
worldwide). It's no different in developing countries like Bangladesh and Myanmar.
Each educational institute has been closed since 17 March. The lack of educational
facilities has a strong and more urgent impact on education with about 36 million
students during COVID-19.
At that time, the government of Bangladesh took steps to broadcast classes, through
national television, for the primary and secondary level students. Private educational
institutions take classes online. NGOs and other organizations also introduced Tele-
Counseling and Tele-learning for alternative education.
On the other hand, it was a bit of luck for Myanmar that all schools were also just
about to close for the summer holidays which begin in early March and finish at the
end of May just after the pandemic has confirmed, and thus it gave Myanmar students
not be left behind the classes so far and the government to have prepared for what
should be done under limited resources.

Challenges of Online Education

During the battle against a lack of learning, online education is prominently
suggested. However, both Bangladesh and Myanmar are not yet able to go fully for
online learning for certain factors.
1. Not quite an inclusive approach
Rasheda K Choudhury, campaign Executive Director for Popular Education, said that
they did not create alternative means of education for children living in remote or
difficult to reach areas. Students who do not access alternative networks and TV
outlets are in danger of leaving school. The rich-poor inequalities within the education
system will also be increased, said the webinar discussants, which was coordinated by
the Economic Modeling Network of South Asia. Only 50% of students have access to
classes via television, according to a new UNICEF survey.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the State Counsellor of Myanmar, is also concerned about
the quality of online education as she believes that online classes concentrate on more
academic skills other than social and life-skills which are more feasible for life and
can only be gained from face-to-face interaction.
2. Ownership inequality in ICT equipment (TV, Computer, Mobile) and access
to internet
In 2019, only 5.6 percent of households in Bangladesh have computers, according to
the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2019 survey made by the Bangladesh
Statistics Bureau (BBS) and UNICEF. 50.6% of households have TV sets.
Most cell phone users use either a simple phone (while having only text and call
functionality) or a phone with additional features, including the Internet and
multimedia). The usage of the smartphone is very small with just 24%. Low
penetration of smartphones prohibits students from access to educational software,
online courses, and learning resources such as slides and eBooks.

The Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC) estimated that

at the end of March 2020, the total number of Internet Subscribers exceeded 103,253
million. Given this rise, the percentage of the total internet population is still small.
Turning to Myanmar, there has been the world’s longest internet outage in conflict
areas in eight townships of Rakhine and Chin states, affecting more than one million
residents since June 2019. Primarily, these states are two of the poorest states where
access to education is limited.
Additionally, Brodynt’s data shows that less than 40% of internet penetration was
observed by the end of 2019 while the number of users has escalated in big cities, but
that of users still scare in rural areas of the country.
3. Slow internet speed
th
Speedtest Global Index reported that out of 174 countries, Bangladesh ranks 96  for
th
broadband internet bandwidth and 130  for mobile internet bandwidth out of 139
countries in April 2020.
Besides, An Ookla report found that Bangladesh's median bandwidth speed in fixed
Internet and bandwidth of mobile internet in May 2020 dropped 12% and 5%
respectively from the figure of March 2020.
However, Myanmar’s internet connection is relatively better compared to Bangladesh
nd
as the country was ranked 2  among ASEAN countries in mobile internet speed with
th
the average download speed of 24.07 Mbps and the 77  in the world according to
Speedtest Global Index.
Solutions
Although classroom education cannot be replaced, distance-learning or online
learning is now unavoidable. So many doors can be opened if we can respond
positively to this need. State, private companies, non-governmental organizations, and
other agencies should work together to revolutionize the learning environment of the
online world, to reshape the framework and to develop crisis management strategies.
1. The use of cost-effective, inclusive media should be an essential focus
The primary and secondary classes were conducted via national television in
Bangladesh. However, the system is without the direct participation of the school
teachers with their students, which in this crisis is essential to their wellbeing.
Platforms should be built and to be used to connect students, parents, teachers, and
administrations with simple technology. Fundamental tele-counseling or group calls
based on apps may be a successful beginning. Cheaper and wider platforms such as
radio can also be used for teaching audio materials.
2. Usage of educational applications platforms
Different learning tools and channels can be used to promote student learning and
social care when closing school. Students typically use collaboration tools to facilitate
Live Videos, including Zoom, Skype, etc. Many companies, including Google
Classroom, Moodle, etc. use the management framework of digital learning. Students
can use massive open online courses (Coursera), self-directed content (Khan
Academy) as well as massive open online learning platforms to learn more.
Bangladesh now has 133 colleges, both public and private. If all universities want to
develop their educational software systems immediately after these quarantine days, it
will take time, because it needs massive investment and a large workforce. So, if an
education software can be built under government patronage, the Ministry of Public
Education, the specialist education providers, the eLearning experts, and the
University's Grand Commission (UGC), all the universities will then be linked to the
respective university websites under one platform.
Turning to Myanmar, Facebook seems the most common platform where private
classes are offered, and many people still do not know how to google yet due to low
digital literacy. Therefore, it is important that youth are encouraged to upgrade their
digital literacy, so as not to be left behind and use more effective educational online
platforms, so much so that they gain the best possible outcome from online learning.
3. Remote learning
The prospect of sharing resources and increasing interaction may be remote learning.
Because students learn from home via the Internet under the pandemic situation,
resources such as teachers, class materials, etc. can be exchanged and shared among
educational institutions. An urban teacher can allow rural students to take part in the
school, vice versa, or even one school can exchange materials and talk with other
schools. More interconnectedness could help to combat the crisis.
For example, many students residing in rural areas of Myanmar no longer need to
travel to big cities like Yangon and Mandalay in order to attend personal development
courses since many popular education providers are now available online.
4. Telecom Sector collaboration with the education sector to facilitate affordable
e-learning
The telecommunications industry might devise unique data packages that allow
students to make cheaper use of the e-learning framework and platforms over mobile
internet. This could have been a significantly progressive move, if properly
implemented, that would benefit the future of education in the long term. Fortunately,
telecoms in Myanmar have reduced their data packages price almost half for the sake
of more accessibility to everyone.
5. Reopening of schools can be an opportunity
There also should be some short-term and long-term policies on the reopening of the
educational institution. A Research Fellow at SANEMhas suggested the following-
First, safety guidelines should be strictly followed when schools are opened. These
guidelines have been established by WHO and UNICEF. Many schools cannot have
sufficient hygiene facilities. Also in remote schools, it is high time for the government
to fund adequate hygiene facilities.
Secondly, to ensure each student returns to school, it should prioritize active public
policies, such as revision of existing scholarship programs, options for 'education
loans,' communications campaigns, active involvement with families in distress, etc.
Thirdly, supplementary nutrition programs to be implemented nationally, including
the school feeding program and the midday meal programs. These measures could
also contribute to reducing drop-out rates.
Fourthly, digital divides among income groups as well as between regions should be
reduced by effective measures.
6. The government needs to increase education allocation.
Moreover, government allocation in education must be increased. Bangladesh 's
educational expenditures are one of the world's lowest both in proportion with its
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and in proportion to its total tax revenue. Total
education expenditure is proposed to be Tk 664,01 which is only 11.7% as part of a
share of the overall budget. A similar low allocation which is 10.4 % for 2019, but has
significantly soared compared to the previous years, can be observed.
Myanmar also had just over 10 % of allocation on education in 2019. However, it can
be said that the amount has climbed historically as it was just about 5 % a decade ago.
7. Negotiating within Family
Surfing the internet is seen as using only Facebook which is considered useless, time-
wasting and risky among many Myanmar families as teenagers and youth are addicted
to Facebook. Almost all Myanmar internet users have at least one active Facebook
account and more than 40 % of the population are on Facebook according to
Napoleon Cat. In addition, parents are worried about internet safety based on hearsay.
These may lead to misunderstanding between parents and children, and thus youth
should explain to their guardians on how the internet will be used for effective online
learning in order to avoid conflicts with families.
Combating the challenges requires enhanced cooperation between the government,
non-governmental organizations, and development partners. But it is the government
who must lead the way out of this crisis. It will be too late to correct it afterward if
appropriate actions are not taken now.