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VOL. 27, NO. 44, July18 , 2008 (Shrawan 03 2065 B.S.) |
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PRIVATE HIGHER SECONDARY SCHOOLS
Competing
For
Quality
With growing private investment, Nepal's higher secondary education system has seen quantum jump in terms of quality and quantity. At a time when government schools/colleges are highly politicized and heavily subsidized, private higher secondary schools and colleges have come up to fill the gap. Along with imparting quality education, these schools are generating employment opportunities and revenues. The experiences have shown that private sector participation in competitive environment can transform the quality of higher secondary education making it qualitatively competitive
By KESHAB POUDEL
Like thousands of other young boys who passed School Leaving Certificate Examination (SLC) securing distinction mark, Bhupal Khatri,16, a resident of Ramkot Village Development Committee, 12, kilometer west of capital, too, decided to join private higher secondary education known popularly as Ten Plus Two. Although there was a government-owned higher secondary school nearby his house and TU affiliated colleges, he preferred to study in private Ten Plus Two college.
Having secured 85 percent marks in SLC, Khatri is seeking admission in any of the top ten higher
secondary colleges. "I will decide the college within a few days looking at academic environment, past performance and fee structure," said Khatri.
However, Sagar Dangol, 16, a resident of Sallaghari, Bhaktapur has already decided to go for management faculty in Global College of Management in Baneshwor. Although there are many higher secondary schools nearby his residence, he preferred Global College because of the credibility of its performance and sound academic environment.
Founded by a group of professionals and education enthusiasts like former governor of Nepal Rastra Bank and member of CA Dr. Tilak Rawal, Professor Dr. Pushkar Bajracharya and Prem Raj Panta, among others, the Global College of Management has already been established as one of the top institutions for competitive and quality education in business subject in just over three four years.
Khatri and Dangol are two students among thousands of students who have been lured by the ten plus two private colleges. Although the government/community colleges and colleges under Tribhuwan University offer education virtually free of cost, bright and talented students naturally prefer private ones.
In terms of physical facilities, infrastructures and human resources, the government colleges are comparatively in advantageous position than the private colleges. The government colleges receive the fund from government whereas private schools and colleges rely on student fees for their operation and management cost. Even in this year's interim budget the finance minister Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat allocated Rs. 9.47 billion rupees out of Rs. 73.53 billion for education.
As they do not receive any grant and subsidy, the fee structures of private schools are higher. In terms of cost and benefits and, the rate or return of investment, private colleges are in better position. The students, themselves, are also competent and they qualify for higher education offered in the county and outside.
"Private sector is doing thankless job investing money in education sector. Although we produce quality students with comparatively little investment than the government, every one blames us for making money," said Dinesh Shrestha, president of Lord Buddha Academy and president of Nepalgunj Medical College in an interactions program organized by SWATEE. "Private sectors have already shown that they can make difference in education sector in terms of quality and competitiveness."
As the government bears all the expenditure of the government colleges, the teachers and management do not have to worry much about the result and quality but the private schools need to prove their efficiency and quality to survive in the competitive market. "Although this is purely a social job, we need to be competitive and qualitative to survive," said Nara Bahadur Bista, promoter of Global College of Management.
"Because of failure of government colleges in providing quality education, the private education institutions have come to fill the gap. In terms of infrastructures and human resources, we are not in a position to compete with government colleges. We are able survive because of our dedication and commitment to the education," said Bista.
Private Vs Government
Nepal's experiences have shown that government intervention in the education sector will ruin its quality. But still there is no dearth of people who promote this idea. Being a country of rampant poverty, populist slogans like free education and nationalization attracts attention of people but it won't work in reality.
Private higher secondary schools and colleges continue to face threat from various student organizations affiliated to major political parties, parents and so called civil society members.
Student unions, populist civil society organizations and education experts accuse private education institutions of creating disparities and making higher secondary education as a money making venture. In reality, the situation is different as the private colleges are filling the gap of quality education encouraging the public sector to follow them.
"Private colleges and schools are commercializing the education. The government must nationalize them," said Lekhanath Neupane, president of All Nepal Free Student Union (Revolutionary), which is affiliated to Maoists, a party that is widely expected to lead the new government. "Education is a basic human right and the government must introduce the free education scheme."
Nepal has a very bitter experience of nationalization of education. After nationalization of education in 1972 under a New Education Policy by then Panchayat government, the quality of education had completely collapsed. After eight years of debacle, the government realized the need to invite the private sector in education. Subsequently, Tribhuwan University started to permit private college as well as the government started to permit the private schools.
However, nobody has time to remember the past experiment. "We want private investment but it must be under the government guidelines," said Pradeep Poudel, president of Nepal Student Union, a student wing affiliated to Nepali Congress.
Education of Globalized Quality
In the last few years overwhelming number of top class students who desired to compete in the globalized competitive market, chose the higher secondary education because the courses offered were updated version and competitive to global context. Whereas Tribhuwan University's curriculum of proficiency education is redundant and has not been changed for decades.
"There is flexibility in course and the curriculum is updated from time to time. This is the reason students are more interested to study higher secondary course," said Bista.
As higher secondary education was promoted to meet the global challenge, its curriculum needs frequent changes. "There is no question of compromise in the quality of education. Higher Secondary Education Board has been trying its best to teach new course and bring the results in time, "said Dr. Upendra Koirala, vice chairman of Higher Secondary School Board.
"We promoted concept of higher secondary education with an aim to impart quality education back home luring Nepalese students going abroad for such education and make the education environment qualitatively competitive," said Congress leader Govinda Raj Joshi, former minister of education 1993-1995. "Of course, it has created certain disparities but it also saved huge amount of foreign currency from going abroad and produced quality students back in Nepal to compete in the global context."
"We will not compromise with quality education. We want to select the quality students," said Mukunda Silwal chief executive officer Golden Gate International College.
Tribhuwan University-affiliated colleges - which enroll more than 50 percent students - teaches outmoded courses of proficiency certificate level, and their quality naturally is very low. As a recruiting center for party cadres, the government colleges hardly care about the quality education.
The government colleges and schools have their own buildings; but their overall management is so poor that classes are overcrowded and broken windowpanes are seldom repaired.
"It is also important to improve the overall environment to make colleges/schools student-friendly. Along with providing quality education, we have also been trying to give good environment to the students, "said Baburam Pokharel, founding principal of V.S. Niketan College and School, which is one of the top schools among higher secondary schools.
In line with growing demands, this year 497 high schools applied for operation at the Higher Secondary Education Council but only 116 got the permission.
According to Higher Secondary Education Board, there are altogether 1545 higher secondary schools. Out of them 965 are under the government and community and 290 are privately run. Among them, 160 are plus two schools and 130 are campuses. This year, the board received 497 new applications for its affiliation but only 90 government and 26 private schools were given the permission. Out of those 26 private schools, 10 will be based in Kathmandu.
Of the 2,55,652 students who passed the SLC, many will join the private schools. In the last four years, the number of students joining higher secondary education has drastically increased. In the year 2061, only 60,000 students appeared in class 11 examination. The number rose to 1,46,000 in 2064.
Private colleges have already proved that they can provide quality education if the government creates the competitive and friendly environment. Private-public participation is a key to transform the quality of education.
