Som Nath Ghimire

This article examines Nepali higher education (HE) teachers' and students' experiences and perceptions of online exams and students' cheating on online assessments during the COVID-19 pandemic, when HE course cycles--including assessments--were conducted online.The study data were collected using semi-structured interviews with HE teachers and students.The study findings illustrate that while both teachers and students expressed positive perceptions of online exams, the increasing prevalence of cheating on online assessments imposed an added layer of challenges to academic integrity and assessment validity for Nepali HEIs in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.The findings offer new insights into the existing body of knowledge on academic dishonesty in Nepal and reveal significant differences between teachers' and students' attitudes towards proctored online exams, as well as the underlying reasons behind students' academic misconduct.We argue that the validity of assessments during the pandemic was more questionable than cheating on online exams itself.

Limited information is available on the expectations and experiences of the Kham Magars, an indigenous community in Nepal, regarding the value of school education. This study delves into the expectations and experiences of school education among the indigenous Kham Magar community in Nepal, using the Expectation Value Theory as a framework. Through qualitative analysis of narratives from community members, multifaceted expectations emerge, including access to education, employment opportunities, active participation, teacher respect, and equal representation. The study further highlights that the Kham Magar community initially places a high value on education, driven by their efforts in establishing schools and their deep respect for teachers. However, over time, challenges arise due to diminished realization of expected benefits, language barriers, and a focus on traditional agricultural practices, all of which impact the sustainability of formal education. Despite valuing education, the community’s aspirations may not always align perfectly with formal schooling, underscoring the importance of incorporating cultural integration into the curriculum. Ultimately, the findings of this study contribute to a better understanding of indigenous expectations towards education, thus emphasizing the necessity for implementing inclusive and sustainable development policies.

In 2014, the Nobel Peace Prize was jointly awarded to Indian-born Kailash Satyarthi and Pakistani-born Malala Yousafzai in recognition of their struggle against the suppression of children. They accepted the prize on behalf of the world’s children who were facing injustices such as poverty, poor labor conditions, forced servitude, and terrorism. Since the Nobel Foundation statutes require the Nobel Laureates to give a lecture at the Nobel Prize Ceremony, Kailash Satyarthi—whose speech is the focus of this study—delivered a Nobel Peace Prize lecture on December 10th, 2014, at Oslo City Hall, Norway. In his lecture, he raised the plight of millions of children on the global stage. This paper offers new insights into the narrative rhetoric concerning each child’s freedom in his Nobel Peace Prize lecture, which demonstrates his life-long mission to help children to enjoy their childhood. Adopting an overarching theoretical lens of narrative rhetoric and agency perspective, the paper analyses the speaker’s agency in his narrative of the plight of children in the face of injustices prevalent across societies and cultures. In doing so, the paper highlights Satyarthi’s employment of narrative rhetoric coupled with his rescuer agency, which appeals to the global citizens to create peaceful, humane, and just societies for children. We argue that his narrative serves as a powerful rhetorical device for arguments, which reinforces his ethos as a life-long champion of children’s rights.