+

Nepal lockdown: An opportunity to de/reterritorialise Nepali academia

Introduction

The history of Nepali academia has been largely dominated by the traditional pedagogical style based on territorialisation at the academies, schools, and universities, but today’s globalised world is moving towards the de/reterritorialisation of the academia, advancing the knowledge production model of pedagogical style. Through the use of advanced technology, the pedagogy of the academia has been totally democratised, deterritorialising the conventionally established physical territory essentialised for the pedagogical motive. The undeveloped countries like Nepal belong to the old epoch of territorialised conceptions of pedagogy though it is essential to deterritorialise the territorialised academia and reterritorialise it to move together with the speedily advancing world.

The terms ‘territorialisation’, ‘deterritorialisation’, and ‘reterritorialisation’ have been first used by French Marxist-psychoanalysts Gilles Deleuze (1925-1995) and Félix Guattari (1930-1992) in their philosophical book Capitalism and Schisophrenia (1972–1980) to disrupt the predominant, authoritarian notions of identity, meaning, and truth, deterritorialising the Freudian and Lacanian territorialisation of human sexual organs. Territorialisation is the process of valourising certain organs and objects at the expense of others; deterritorialisation is the process of freeing desire from established organs and objects; reterritorialisation is a dream which reconstructs our suppressed desire of the unconscious reattaching into the new mode of production. In the same spotlight, through online learning systems, the traditionally territorialised learning can be deterritorialised and the whole academia can be reterritorialised in the virtually digitalised world. Though the developed and developing countries have already advanced the academia, entering the internet world, the undeveloped countries like Nepal,  due to their poor academic structure and consciousness, are still continuing the traditional territorialised world of academia. But, fortunately, or unfortunately, the pandemic Covid -19 prevalent in the world, has forced the countries to lock down which has opened up the consciousness to the online academia.

READ: With more online classes, lockdown may lead Nepali education to digital transformation

Territorialisation, deterritorialisation and reterritorialisation  

Students in classroom

Territorialisation, in the academic world, refers to the system of following conventionally established physical locations as the formal pedagogical sites. The teaching-learning activities and the knowledge related programmes are limited only to the universities, colleges, schools, and the academies demanding complete physical presence of both the instructors and the learners. In such a system, there are three compulsory entities–teachers, students, and classrooms. In the classrooms, the students passively receive the lectures delivered by the teachers. There is a hierarchy of superior and inferior, giver and taker, and producer and receiver. The teaching-learning activity is largely dominated by and oriented towards the teachers rather than the learners. The students do not get any chance to fully, creatively, and critically participate in academic activities.

Such a traditional territorialised approach of learning ca not meet the goal set by the educational world and the governments.

Deterritorialisation, in academia, refers to a breakaway from the conventionally established educational system of obligating the physical universities, colleges, classrooms, and the face-to-face presence of both instructors and the learners. The long-time-back-established system has spread its roots everywhere so powerfully that it is very difficult to dismantle it and adopt a totally new system. Instead of going to the university and the classroom, both sides should participate in virtual classrooms to technology to adopt the new system. A lack of technological competence prevents both sides to conduct online educational classes; it makes the mission of e-learning a failure.

The physical territories, we believe, not only provide space for the teaching-learning activities but also create long-lasting memories assisting the academic activities. Moreover, the concept is deeply rooted within both sides that face-to-face meetings and interactions naturalise the learning. It effectively stops us from entering the advanced e-learning, and, secondly, causes us to return to the old one, feeling that the new one is difficult to assimilate. Therefore, one needs to dare to destabilise the old one and establish the new one with full effort.

Learning in de/reterritorialised academia

Internet learning (e-learning) offers conceptual and experimental learning through machines, media platforms, and network solutions in the de/reterritorialised academia. It takes place both inside and outside the classrooms. E-learning solutions consist of both instructor-led learning tools as well as self-paced platforms. This kind of learning has gained tremendous importance because of several competitive advantages in a number of areas like accessibility, inclusiveness, flexibility, technology, and convenience.

Today, e-learning tools and technologies cover simple home-based learning programmes, pre-recorded audio and video study tools, recorded video lectures, live streaming of classroom teachings, classroom aids, and multimedia-based learning, mobile learning, personalised online tutoring, e-learning authoring tools and e-books, online homework help services, online writing assistance, and editing services as well as far more sophisticated education technologies and e-learning solutions including technology-enhanced aids, augmented learning spaces, virtual reality-based corporate e-learning tools, online training software, online IT training and certification programmes. The study content of various grades can be easily accessed by the student in the format of e-books, online study guides, and stepwise solution manuals, e-mail exchange with online tutors, live chat with online tutors, downloadable videos, pre-recorded lectures, audio study guides and pre-loaded content on controlled tablet devices. Various education technology providers are also heading towards mobile learning solutions (also known as m-learning) as the advanced stage of education technology in the future.

Advantages of learning in de/reterritorialised academia

  1. Cost-effective
  2. The comfort of own home
  3. Large area coverage
  4. Flexibility
  5. Focused learning
  6. Self-disciplined
  7. Versatile learning system
  8. Online resources
  9. Access, equity, and disability
  10. Outreach
  11. Improved administration
  12. A diverse and enriching experience
  13. Contextual learning

Disadvantages of learning in de/reterritorialised academia

  1. No humanistic touch
  2. Feeling of isolation
  3. Lack of face-to-face natural communication
  4. Mechanical life
  5. Commercial relationship
  6. Accessibility problem

Though there are some disadvantages of reterritorialising academia, the advantages outnumber them. Therefore, Nepal must begin it to exist together with the globalised and technologically advanced world. It is already late, but still, the initiation right now may preclude us from being a relic.

Right time

A screenshot of the first online class at Kings College conducted on Sunday. Photo Courtesy: King’s College

Now is the right time for Nepal to disrupt the conventional territory and adopt the new territory of the technology. It is the appropriate time to shift from place to space, physical to virtual, and physical face-to-face to digital face-face-to face academic arena. The Covid -19, though certainly a crisis to the human world, can surely help Nepal deterritorialise the academia and reterrritorialise it connecting everyone to the internet world.

Reterritorialisation is the process of dismantling the conventionally established physical universities and classrooms and establishing digital ones with the help of advanced technology. It is a new techno-friendly system of pedagogical style in the academic world. Moreover, it is the restructuring of the whole academia connecting people from every corner of the world into the learning process, establishing the virtual universities and classrooms. The online learning (e-learning) is a new form of study in which learning is possible remaining in comfort at home. It is reterritorialisation that provides an opportunity to remove the knowledge transference model and highlight the knowledge production model of pedagogy. Furthermore, it helps in democratisation of the learning systems and structures.

Nepal, a conventional pedagogy-following nation, has got the right time to initiate the online classes in the universities, colleges, and schools, strengthening the technological resources and skills, because the whole nation is locked down due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Because of the long lockdown, the academic schedules have been deferred and we fear that the whole semester or year may be lost.

Though our nation as a whole, all institutions, and people, do not have access to internet technology, this time can be the first step to enter the digital learning world. All universities, colleges, and even schools should rightly launch the online learning system, which really makes the educational practices convenient opening the way to a new epoch.

The hitherto achieved experiences from both teachers’ and the students’ sides make us realise that online learning and virtual universities are really essential. The world has become highly capitalistic that time has become the greatest resource among all. Online education effectively saves time. Further, the digital connection blurs all the hierarchies related to age, class, caste, age, and region. Furthermore, the natural calamities and the pandemics like the current one prevent the physical university education. Therefore, it is the right time even for Nepal to deterritorialise the physical universities and classrooms and reterritorialise them in the digital world.

Dhungel teaches at Bishwa Bhasha Campus in Kathmandu.

React to this post

Dhungel teaches at Bishwa Bhasha Campus in Kathmandu.

More From the Author

Conversation

New Old Popular