Perception of distance learning in Bangladeshi tertiary education: prospects and obstacles in the Covid-19 era

Purpose: The key purpose of the study is to understand the university students' perception of a sudden distance learning platform from Bangladesh (a least developed countries' perspective). Research methodology: This particular study has employed a qualitative research method with the support of interview and observation methods. The study has selected 20 University students as a sample size based on purposive sampling. Results: The findings provide a vivid outline of the current situation of the universities- that the students have- over the influence of distance learning on education, technology, their university, course instructors, and themselves. Limitations: The data was qualitative in nature and the study only interviewed the university students but not the other stakeholders of that system; in addition, the study did not triangulate the data with more quantitative data. Contribution: The study makes an important contribution to the literature on the least developed countries' university education, which will benefit Higher Education institutions that are also struggling with the prospects and obstacles of distance learning during and in the post-Covid-19 crisis system is really beneficial for all the students. many universities adopted this system in their education system. They used to give the class notes, assignment through the IT system before the COVID-19 era. So I think it's a big challenge for us to cope up with this system. Because many students still don't know how to use this system, so it's definitely challenging for us. Q-12 . We are using zoom, Google meet, Google classroom apps/websites for participating in the classes. These apps are very easy and helpful to continue the classes. We are participating in our online classes regularly and the semester is going on. We don't sit idly, rather keep us busy with our classes, assignments like before. However, some of the students who are outside of Dhaka City are facing problems. They have to spend their money to buy internet packages and sometimes they can't participate in the classes due to poor connection of internet network . The semester fee is the most challenging thing at this time. We do not have any scope/offer to provide a minimum semester fee during this pandemic situation.


Introduction
The significance of distance learning is recognised worldwide. Many countries have adopted this distance learning platform for higher education and staff development purposes (Saunders et al., 2019;Cacault & Laurent-Lucchetti, 2020). The perceptual factors have been explored and measured in many studies to unearth the real targeted outcomes Daroedono et al., 2020;Khan & Sharma, 2020;Giovannella, 2021). In the case of Bangladesh, this distance learning platform is not entirely new, but it was not widely accepted before the Covid-19 crisis. Few universities had their own distance learning management system before this pandemic (Islam & Selim, 2006), but to a very low extent. Hence, this Covid-19 crisis sends the policymakers of Bangladeshi higher education institutions (HEIs) to rethink about online-based education along with distance learning platforms (British Council Bangladesh, 2020). Due to the current unforeseen Covid-19 pandemic, the pedagogical system has taken a new turn; as in almost all the countries, direct or indirect lock-down is going on. So, at the moment, distance learning is not any more optional or is not limited to any particular group of learners; rather, it has become a precondition for most of the educational institutions (including primary, secondary, universities) if they are to continue the flow of the teaching-learning process. As part of the global efforts to combat Covid-19, many countries across the world closed down schools in an attempt to contain the coronavirus pandemic. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) monitoring, over 100 countries implemented nationwide closures, impacting over half of the world's student population (VOA News, 2020).
However, much of the academic literature focuses on the impact of distance learning on students and the plethora of technologies that support its delivery (Isaias et al., 2017;Holmes et al., 2019;Law, Geng, & Li, 2019). Only a minority of studies directly consider the impact of transitioning to distance learning on academic and support staff, and the focus of these studies is typically on a narrow aspect such as staff workload (Tynan et al., 2015;Saunders et al., 2019); Technology acceptance (Wingo et al., 2017;Alshurideh et al., 2019;Handoko, 2019); Engineering Education (Kinney et al., 2012;Saunders et al., 2019) etc. Few studies can be found on distance learning platform for the least developed countries (LDCs) (Andersson & Grönlund, 2009;Bhuasiri et al., 2012;Valencia-Arias et al., 2019); however, there is no such specific research found based on the sudden distance learning perception of university students; more specifically for LDCs perspective. The increasing use of technology in education has modified teachers' methods from the traditional approach that often place them as dispensers of knowledge to a more flexible approach where they act more as facilitators, mentors and motivators to inspire students to participate and learn . Most aspects of education are going digital, and education stakeholders, including students, are confronted with the challenge of transition to online education. The use of appropriate educational technologies increases accessibility to learning resources such as Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and multiple learning approaches to meet diverse learners' needs (Onyema, Ogechukwu & Anthonia, 2019).
Many works looking at the broader perspective of stakeholders involved in distance learning have been done (Mansbach & Austin, 2018;Zheng et al., 2019), but still 'significant gaps in the current research' concerning the role of the instructors and learners can be found (Siemens, Gašević, & Dawson 2015;Martin et al., 2019). If we are to examine the broader perception of university students towards engaging in distance learning education, this is significantly true, especially in terms of the personal development opportunities that it provides. This study makes an important contribution to the literature on distance learning by focusing specifically on the real-time challenges facing university students when tasked with developing new distance learning procedures from previously existing campus-based ones before the Covid-19 crisis. This qualitative study has been carried out within the university students' perception on a sudden distance learning platform from Bangladesh (a LDC perspective). Data has been collected from structured interviews with university students (undergrad and graduate) engaged in the newly established distance learning platform during this Covid-19 crisis. The main research questions have been set as: RQ-1. What are students' attitudes and perceptions towards the sudden distance learning system in the universities during the Covid-19 crisis? RQ-2. What could be the prospects and obstacles of the current distance learning platform during and in the post-Covid-19 period?
The strategy of operations may vary based on the environmental context (Khan et al., 2018). By answering these questions, the study provides UGC and the universities of Bangladesh with the knowledge to better understand students' perception towards distance learning, enabling UGC and the universities to foster the right environment for academic and instructional design teams to develop and deliver effective distance learning programmes during Covid-19 crisis.
This is the primary contribution of this paper. This paper has been designed as follows; the upcoming section narrates the Bangladeshi distance learning platform before and during the Covid-19 crisis, the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the Bangladeshi education system, and related research on distance learning platform, and suitable distance learning platform from LDCs context. The third section describes the methods of this research. The subsequent sections describe the results and analysis, discussion, conclusion, limitations, future research, academics and policymakers, and implications of this research.

Covid-19 and its impact on the Bangladeshi education system
The economic uneasiness during the outbreak of the Covid-19 is mostly but not completely limited to the tension of health systems of being unable to deal with more routine health issues during outbreaks (Khan, 2020); costs of medical treatment of the infected and outbreak control, costs of the health system as a whole, both public and private; loss of employee productivity, of educational institutions; destabilisation on the tourism section and so on (Goodell, 2020). The pedagogical framework has taken a new turn in Bangladesh, owing to the latest unexpected Covid-19 pandemic. Hence, distance learning is no longer optional at the moment or is not restricted to any specific community of learners; instead, it has become a precondition for most Bangladesh educational institutions to continue the flow of the teaching-learning stream (Ilmiyah & Setiawan, 2020). There is always a chance that some faculty members who are not techno-savvy will not be able to cope with this mode. The transition to online mode has raised questions for the faculty about their capability to deal with the existing technology (Lee, 2020). In Bangladesh, the scenario is also the same; as of April 29, 2020, 63 universities started teaching online classes out of 133 universities (including private and public universities). The number is increasing rapidly (mainly in private universities). However, a clear division is seen among the academicians and public universities regarding the outcome of the online classes and, thus, learning. Even, University Grants Commission of Bangladesh conducted an online survey on the effectiveness of online higher education over the past two months (April and May of 2020), to formulate an Online Education Learning Policy for the current situation as well as the future and the findings suggested, Bangladeshi educational institutions need to do a lot more in order to be ready for conducting online classes (Dhaka Tribune, 2020). But still, every day, the number of universities conducting online classes is increasing.

Probable framework suitable for Bangladeshi context
The transition to online learning from a classroom-based learning system closely connects to the relationship between costs and benefits. However, the particulars of this will vary for each key stakeholder (e.g. students, teaching staff, support staff, the hiring industry, and the higher educational institution itself) (Wagner et al., 2008). It is challenging to determine and it requires extensive research on it. A lot of works have been done on cost-benefit analyses in online learning (for example, Xia, 2015;Legon & Garrett 2018;Harrison, 2019), but Laurillard's study reveals that the costing models have almost no impact on practical activities in educational institutions' planning e-learning innovation (Laurillard 2007). They lack consistency and do not fit existing practices. They require a good amount of effort on user's and innovator's part to work out costs normally unavailable to them, especially for the recondite nature of teaching costs. This is particularly relevant as the techniques, technologies, mobile phone networks, partnership opportunities, competitors, demographics, and delivery models involved in distance learning initiatives are evolving rapidly (Saunders et al., 2019;Khan et al., 2021). Moreover, the impact and influence can vary as the perceived benefits and disadvantages of distance learning are varied. Betts & Heaston (2014) conducted a survey that weighed the perspectives of academic staff and deans against a list of 29 motivating and 20 inhibiting factors-we see that faculty with distance education experience consider the vital motivating factors quite differently to those without the experience. An important but unsurprising finding from this research is that experienced participants said the key role is played by personal motivation. The main inhibitors were more similar between the groups, with these fitting into three main areas: quality, time and support.

Research methodology
This particular study has employed a qualitative research method with the support of interview and observation method. Hence the study has designed a suitable interview schedule before discussing it with the participants. As the research area is affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, thus physical interviewing was not appropriate for the health concern of both the interviewer and the interviewees. For those consequences, the study arranged some online interviews over a Zoom meeting (online meeting platform) after getting prior mutual consent from each participant. The interview was conducted from June 25 to July 10 of this year, 2020. The interview questions began with some demographic information and some relevant questions that are fully consistent with the aim of this research. All the questions were threatening, non-sensitive, easy to answer, and entirely focused on this research, as suggested by (Polit et al., 2004;Trochim, 2005). The duration of each interview session was 15 to 30 minutes (Daley et al., 2019) according to the response and convenience of the interviewees. For this particular study, interviewers asked interviewees precisely the identical formatted sequence of questions. Thus, the study picked up a structured method of interviewing for data collection as recommended by (Ryan et al., 2009). The study population is the students from different Universities in Bangladesh who are experiencing the sudden distance learning management system during this Covid-19 crisis. Only 63 universities out of 133 universities have started teaching online classes (Dhaka Tribune, 2020). Hence the study population size of the study is lying among the 63 Universities' students. There is a lack of exact data about the total population size. According to Latham (2020), for interview and observation analysis, 15 to 20 interviewers are well enough to conduct a qualitative study. Latham (2013) suggests that overload sometimes takes place in homogeneous communities of about 12 members. Therefore, a minimum of 15 respondents works very well if they are homogenous for the most qualitative research (Latham, 2020). To avoid saturation, 15 to 20 respondents, as a minimum, fit quite well because the subjects are homogenous with qualitative interview methods (Crouch & McKenzie, 2006). Thus a 20 number of University students are considered as sample size based on purposive sampling technique (Lavrakas, 2008). After collecting the data, the study has been arranged data through a judgment approach and the arranging data have been presented in the narrative way (Khan, 2019;Khan & Sharma, 2020).

Interview participants profile
The study selected (N=20) students from the 63 universities who are going through the distance learning system in Bangladesh.

Perception on adaptation towards current distance learning
All the students were asked about their perception of adaptation towards distance learning. A mixed opinion has been observed from the discussion answers. A portion of the participants who are experiencing this distance learning platform shared their positive view of adaptation, while others shared criticisms regarding the current distance learning system. Due to privacy reasons, the study cannot reveal the participants' name and their affiliated University. Hence the analyses use coding words to describe the responses. The below quotation ((Q-1) from a student indicates several students' responses who share their positive perception of distance learning.

Q-1. I am personally adapting quite well. I would rather stay home for safety and continue my education during this pandemic than do nothing for days or go outside unwillingly. I have WiFi at home; therefore, it
is not really a problem to attend online classes for me unless the electricity goes away. My institution has also made it as easy as they could for all of us on such short notice. There were a few hurdles at first, but I believe they will only keep improving and things will run very smoothly from now on.
Though the students were constructive but at the same time, they shared some criticisms towards this current distance learning system. The below two quotations (Q-2 and Q-3) from two students indicate several students' responses who shared similar criticism.

Q-2.
The university activities such as classes, assignments, quizzes are taken through online due to Covid-19.As we had no experience for all of these; it is taking time to adapt with this situation. Distance learning may be good for saving time, energy but direct participation is more beneficial for me. Being a finance student I must solve mathematical problems. But due to the slow speed of internet connection, it is quite difficult to understand when the class is conducted by the respective teachers.

Q-3. I have troubles adjusting to it, because I don't have a laptop, so I have to do all the works on the phone. No internet data pack, weak network, phone runs out of charge, so I can't do the next class if I attend in one class. Honestly, I like to sit at home and take classes, but I can't find real education which I get from attending class myself. However, keeping in mind the situation of the country, I have adapted a lot now.
Some significant perceptual factors have been observed from the above analysis. First, the students who can afford modernised learning devices such as their own tablet, PC, high internet connectivity, and having good knowledge of IT-based learning management systems can easily adapt to the platform. While the second one, the students who are also able to afford learning devices such as laptop, PC, high internet connectivity and having good knowledge of IT but attend in mathematical or laboratory-based classes are facing troubles while adaptation, and the final one, the students who are unable to afford modernised learning devices and supports such as personal computer, high internet connectivity and having poor knowledge of IT-based learning management system are also facing huge difficulties in adaptation.

Perception on course instructors' effectiveness and adaptability in current distance learning
This section tries to reveal students' perception of course instructors' effectiveness and adaptability in the current distance learning system. Most of the students share their positivity towards instructors' willingness to teach them well; however, few criticisms have also been exposed from the participants. The three students' below three quotations ((Q-4, Q-5, and Q-6) indicate several students' responses who share their positive perception of course instructors' effectiveness and adaptability. On the other hand, few constructive criticisms are observed from the respondents' responses as well.
The below three quotations (Q-7, Q-8 and Q-9) from the students indicate constructive criticism on course instructors' effectiveness and adaptability. Based on the above analysis, it can be said students are positive regarding the course instructors' effectiveness and adaptability in current distance learning; however, few of them believe proper training and logistics support for their course instructors are obvious for better adaptability.

Students' perception regarding the opportunities and challenges in distance learning
The respondents are very much concerned about the opportunities and challenges in distance learning. All of them shared their opinions on the ground of this discussion point. The below three quotations ((Q-10, Q-11, and Q-12) from the students can summarise the whole responses which are sharing their perception regarding the opportunities and challenges in distance learning.

Q-10.
Where some universities have not started distance learning system activities, we are far ahead as our universities started these activities earlier. In addition, Our university has shown sympathy where other universities have forced students to take classes in distance learning systems. It has encouraged us in the distance learning system by emphasising its importance rather than forcing it.
Q-11. I think it is a better system for learning. Students are now learning through information systems. The students having no knowledge about IT systems are now also adapting to this system. Now we know how to send pictures through e-mail effectively. Now we know how to use Google classroom etc. So, I think this system is really beneficial for all the students. Already, many universities adopted this system in their education system. They used to give the class notes, assignment through the IT system before the COVID-19 era. So I think it's a big challenge for us to cope up with this system. Because many students still don't know how to use this system, so it's definitely challenging for us.

Q-12.
We are using zoom, Google meet, Google classroom apps/websites for participating in the classes. These apps are very easy and helpful to continue the classes. We are participating in our online classes regularly and the semester is going on. We don't sit idly, rather keep us busy with our classes, assignments like before. However, some of the students who are outside of Dhaka City are facing problems. They have to spend their money to buy internet packages and sometimes they can't participate in the classes due to poor connection of internet network . The semester fee is the most challenging thing at this time. We do not have any scope/offer to provide a minimum semester fee during this pandemic situation.
Based on the discussion, some opportunities and key challenges are revealed from the participants who are engaging in real-life experiences on distance learning. The probable opportunities are 1) students and teachers are trying to adopt this new platform; 2) broadening their IT knowledge; 3) overcoming the session jam barriers. On the other hand, the possible challenges are observed as, 1) still many of the universities are not launching their distance learning platform; hence those students may face huge session jam; 2) students from remote areas are in trouble to adapt this distance learning platform due to poor network and IT facilities; 3) identical distance learning platform for all universities cannot be ensured.

Students' proposals to make this current distance learning platform more effective
In this section, the interviewees were also asked to share some proposals to make this current system more interactive and effective for learning. Based on their comments, the following proposals can be pointed out.

P 1) UGC or the Universities (policymakers) of a least developing country like
Bangladesh need to support free or reasonable packages of the internet to the students for furthering the instructiveness and effectiveness of distance learning systems. P 2) Policymakers need to build funding for financial aid to those students who cannot afford modernised IT-based learning devices such as laptops, tablets etc. P 3) Policymakers need to create more awareness and supportive programs for developing a positive mental set up towards distance learning systems. P 4) University authorities have to make their own exam portal using a) WAMP Server, b) XAMPP Server, c) MAMP Server d) LAMP Server. P 5) Both teacher and student have to be trained about online class/exam method, e.g.
Zoom, Google Meet, Google classroom etc. P 6) Both the recorded classes and the live classes can be more effective in distance learning

Discussion
Based on the above analysis, this study concludes that all the participants have mixed opinions regarding this sudden platform of distance learning education in Bangladesh. However, both parties have some strong logic in their comments. In this particular section, the study has tried to compare the result with previous works of literature. As the study has separated its analysis with three specific perception criteria, the study outcomes need a comparison with each perception criterion. The following table shows the comparisons with previous works of literature. The outcomes of this study regarding perception on adaptation with the distance learning systems have supported the study of (Sherry, 1995;Schweisfurth, 2011;Saunders et al., 2019); and the new contribution from this section is the mathematical or laboratory-based practical classes are tough to adapt and distance learning platform is better adaptable for introvert students. In another perception related outcomes regarding course, instructors' effectiveness and adaptability in current distance learning supported the study of Stevenson et al. (1996); Inman (1999); MacDonald (2008); Shah et al. (2015); Law et al. (2019); and the new contribution from this section is the variation of instructor's age has a great impact on the adaptability of distance learning. In addition, an outcome towards students' perception regarding the prospects and obstacles in distance learning has supported the study of Pena-Bandalaria (2007); Wagner et al. (2008); Ma & Lee (2019); and the new contribution from this section is: the pandemic situation is heading towards digitalised higher education as a part of country's vision and an identical distance learning platform needs to be ensured. Based on the analysis and discussion, this current study can easily meet the answer to both the research questions.

Conclusion, implications, and future research
This study makes two significant contributions to theory and practice. Firstly, the findings provide a rich picture of the prospects and obstacles from the students' point of view and their perception on adaptation, perception on course instructors' effectiveness and adaptability, perception regarding the prospects and obstacles towards current distance learning. In doing so, the study makes an essential contribution to the literature on LDCs university education, which will benefit HE institutions around the LDCs who are also struggling with the prospects and obstacles of distance learning during and in the post-Covid-19 crisis. The real-time experiences of the participants in this study exemplify the perception of distance learning on educational approaches adopted by universities and UGC Bangladesh and the Covid-19 impact on their already existing education system. The participants in this study viewed distance learning as offering opportunities for learners to cope with new systems and learn new technologies; folding back new content into the existing programmes and simultaneously transforming existing programmes and units into a more advanced learning style. Stakeholders also grasped the benefits of distance learning-for the institution, it matters in terms of increased reputation and for students, it matters from the perspective of adaptability and avoiding the session jam. Secondly, the study produces prior literature and the outcomes of the research to proffer a number of recommendations for stakeholders to consider required for a practical distance learning education. Interrogating students' impression about distance learning in this particular way and coming up with insights into the support system that universities and UCG need in order to develop and deliver high quality and effective distance learning programmes and all should enhance the opportunities and minimise the barriers to a successful roll-out of distance learning.
There have some lots of corridor to run for future research based on the outcomes of this study. The data was qualitative in nature and the study only interviewed the university students but not the other stakeholders of that system; in addition, the study did not triangulate the data with more quantitative data such as online-based distance learning versus campus-based teaching. Secondly, the collected data in this research provides only a snapshot of students' perception, based on structured interviews. A further study, which may interview the other stakeholders on distance learning, would provide further insights into the current distance learning system. Lastly, this study related works were conducted in a single least developed country like Bangladesh. Replicating the study across other LDCs would most likely provide a further understanding of distance learning's students' perceptions.