Improve education sector

The dismal state of education in the country has never been a matter of concern for the government. The main reason for the rampant illiteracy prevailing in the country is: failure to achieve the goals of literacy campaigns. No effective measures to reduce illiteracy have been introduced. Thus, as a result, more than half the adult population are unaware of literacy courses, what to speak of poor children. Had the government initiated effective programmes to provide literacy to the adult population and also the children of those who cannot afford two square meals a day, the situation would not have been so pathetic as it is today. It is indeed sad to note that over 68 percent of the total population cannot read and write.

Three years ago, the National Planning Commission (NPC) and Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), which conducted a survey in 37 districts, estimated that the literacy rate of these districts was higher than 52 percent. This, they said, included school children below six years of age. Of the total, female illiteracy rate was over 62 percent. However, UNESCO's survey states that the rate of literacy does not exceed 32 percent. This is the lowest in South Asia. These differences certainly show that the literacy rate fixed by government authorities in 37 districts may not present the true picture. It is indeed possible that the government exaggerated the literacy scenario to project a literacy rate that is higher than the actual one.

In the Ninth Plan, the Nepali Congress (NC) led government pledged to achieve the unrealistic goal of attaining 70 percent literacy rate. However, what the Plan failed to specify was how it would go about achieving this target within just five years. Thus, as expected, the projection turned out to be nothing but a mockery of the stated policy. It is sad but true that the present structure of non-formal education system introduced by successive governments has failed to make

any headway. Apparently, the government does not seem to recognise the defects that have plagued its efforts. Donor agencies invest huge amounts of money every year for non-formal education. Unfortunately, the effects of this investment remain ever the same. Obviously, non-governmental organisations and government authorities have to be blamed as they have misused the funds in the course of implementation.

Misappropriation of funds in all sectors has no doubt increased during the last few years. State run schools-like public corporations-have become recruitment grounds for political cadres. If many schools in the country are severely understaffed then many are also overstaffed. The Education Ministry has not done anything to remedy this situation. Under such circumstances, how can the education system, formal or non-formal, succeed? Only if the government effectively implements policies and monitors the use of funds.

Frontier issue in development

By Saubhagya Shah

Over the years India's favourite saber rattling pastime has been to accuse Nepal of being a den of smugglers and terrorists who swarm over the open border to strike at vulnerable mother India. If that is the case, the logical course would be for India to show interest in regulating the border with Nepal, like it has done with Pakistan and Bangladesh where much deeper similarities of culture, language and history have not stopped India from erecting barbed fences on those frontiers. Same with Sri Lanka, although the two countries share so much racial and cultural affinities, they still follow a visa and passport regime. But when it comes to Nepal, New Delhi is stridently committed to maintaining the open access to Nepal for economic, cultural and political extractions and influence-a process that is ruinous for Nepal in every sense.

Prior to his recent sojourn to India, prime minister Koirala went on record saying that it is beyond Nepal's present means but if India wants to, it can build a fence on the border with Nepal. While welcoming the guest in New Delhi, Indian Premier Vajpayee snubbed his Nepali counterpart by stating that the open border between the two friendly neighbours is the bedrock of friendly bilateral relations. Such a blunt remark from Delhi Durbar silenced the Nepali delegation from raising the border issue during bilateral talks, but soon after returning from this friendly visit Mr Koirala again mused at one function that the open border was the mother of all problems for Nepal. A classic example of how power demands deference and disrupts articulation even when it is gut-felt as by Koirala, a person known to be exceptionally courageous and not known to mince words.

The prime minister began this India visit with numerous disclaimers that he was going there without any agenda, that he was travelling with no fixed business in mind. The obvious question is, if that is the case why bother going on a purposeless junket? It is not that he does not have enough on his hands here. The explanation is perhaps to be found in history. During the eighteenth century, the subedars, mirs, and nawabs of the far flung provinces of the Deccan, Mysore, Bengal and Oudh made similar trips to imperial Delhi to be conferred and confirmed by the Mughal emperor. There used to be no other agenda. Even if elected by our sovereign parliament, Nepali prime ministers do not feel fully confirmed until they are able to make at least one such pilgrimage to the old imperial Delhi. No coincidence that those who did not make it to Delhi enjoyed abruptly short tenures. During Panchayat raj, Prime Minister conferment concluded at Narayanhiti Durbar, Now it is a jet hour away. One can certainly differ in one's judgment as to whether this is progress or regress, but this power ritual will certainly strike future historians as the farcical repetition of history Marx alluded to.

It is one thing to say that immediate control of the open border is not practicable, but quite another to argue that Nepal-India border should never be regulated. The process can be initiated with modest starts like work permits, entry registration and record keeping at the border points before a full fledged visa regime can be in place. As the English peasants used to say, a strong fence makes for good neighbours.

The often heard cultural logic in defence of the open border is that since Nepal and India share so much cultural, religious, matrimonial and economical ties, the border can never be regulated. The issue of controlled border and closed border are conflated. A regulated border does not mean a closed border, people will still be able to come and go between the two countries to marry, male pilgrimage, work, tour as before, but the only inconvenience will be that they must show a document or are recorded at the border post. Is that too much to ask of citizens of two separate nation-states? How will that harm bilateral relations? After all we do it all the time when we travel to other countries. And if shared "religion and culture" (and it takes a separate article to deal with the myth of the shared religion and culture) is sufficient condition for an open border, then India would have to tear down its barbed fences on the Pakistani and Bangladeshi borders too. For Nepal, the question of a regulated border with India is not a matter of misplaced and impractical nationalist ego as the open-border lobby are wont to describe but a down-to-earth pragmatics concerning issues of public health, employment, market prices, population control, capital flows, governance, development planning and much more.

The notion of a bounded nation-state is not a romantic hallucination, but the foundational condition for modern development. To take an indigenous tauli analogy: If variables such as water, rice, heat and pressure cannot be contained and controlled, this indigenous pot will not deliver our bhaat. Same with development and nation-building, unless the integrity of the containing pot is ensured, the country will be non-responsive to development. The various ingredients such as population, immigration, prices, interest rates, capital reserve, employment cannot be controlled to a reasonable degree, failure of not only political but economic projects is preordained. In the absence of frontier integrity, planning in Nepal continues to be mostly an exercise in building castles in the air. Dr Harka Gurung's report some twenty years ago came to a similar conclusion, that development would not be possible without regulating the long border to the east, south and west. There is a recent example from public health sector that highlights this porous condition:

Nepal could have rid itself of the polio disease through its successful campaigns, were it not for the open border that keeps reinfecting the population again and again.

Victory, not yet

By Ajit Baral

They were there, below a makeshift blue plastic tent in that triangle at the Bhadrakali crossroad. They looked haggard, emaciated and pathetic. Women among them had babies clinging on to their backs. Men were squatting uncomfortably on sukul. The air was heavy with gloom, uncertainty and despair. I was there more than once and had witnessed the gloom all around. But little did I know what these people were there for. This ignorance stemmed not from my not-knowing the Kamaiya system, but from my inability to empathize with them and their cause.

On the second of July, however, I was to know, ironically, in the crest of happiness these people were thrown into, following a declaration of Kamaiya Mukti, the depth of misery, exploitation, torture these people had to put up with. The happiness they exuded, with peals of laughter and smiles, with spontaneous songs and dances; the way they rallied around the main streets of Kathmandu, chanting slogans of freedom; a sense of victory they portrayed even locked up in a cell; and, the contentment suffused in the faces of my friends who was so much a part and parcel of the Kamaiya Mukti Andolan.

Since then, I am trying to follow the happenings post- Kamaiya Mukti.)

Kamaiyas have been freed from the bondage of Kamaiya system alright. We were also freed from the autocracy of Panchayati system. But the situation hasn't changed for good even in democracy that was ushered in after long arduous struggle and much bloodshedding. The same corruption, the same tendency of chakri and chaplusi, the same politicians and the same political wrangling reigns supreme. Thus, there is a possibility of Kamaiya mukti andolan going our democracy's way. So, it is not the right time to rest contented with the mukti alone.

The ex-Kamaiyas are being stripped of their possessions, and thrown out of their houses. Sans work and food, they are starving. And to compound the misery, encephalitis has been ailing these people. There is even danger of mass extermination or these people returning to their past masters in desperation. So, there is still much to be done, especially with the Kamaiya rehabilitation issue. But the rehabilitation program is nowhere in sight.

And who is to take note of this grave situation? Barring one or two NGOs, all the other NGOs are unresponsive to this situation. Moreover, those NGOs that prided in being involved in Kamaiya Mukti Andolan for over a decade have gone into hiding, selfishly, as soon as they found that the credit for Kamaiya Mukti had gone to another organization.

The government and the netas in particular, who clamoured to reap the credit when Kamaiya emancipation was nigh, are also not showing alacrity and urgency which the kamaiya's present situation demands. This indifference from different quarters has been flashing out some worrying signals.

Thus, those who feel for kamaiyas from the heart should understand that victory has not been achieved yet and more war has to be fought, lest this victory turns out to be the case of so near yet so far.

Should Koirala be ousted ?

The Kathmandu Post and Mercantile Communications conducted a survey on the question "Do you think rebels will be successful to oust GP Koirala soon?" last week on the Net. Of the total 599 respondents, 55.1 percent said "No", 40.1 percent said "Yes" and 4.8 percent said "they did not know'.

We regret the inconvenience, if any that may be caused on account of original names being kept back by some respondents.

There should be immediate attempt to oust GP from the post of prime minister because he is completely unsuccessful in delivering on his pledge when Krishna Prasad Bhattarai was ousted by him and his henchmen. There is no moral ground for remaining in the post of prime minister. The rebels are doing well against him and this is quite relevant. However, it is difficult to say whether the rebels will succeed because Bhattarai has never taken a stand. So Deuba and his followers should harden their positions and oust him.

- Kumari Shrestha

Still, Girija Prasad Koirala is the main figure in Nepali politics as well as in Nepali Congress. I agree with anyone who says that Koirala has vested interests for staying in power and that he is the most corrupt person who is to be blamed. But what can we do when a majority of Nepalis continue to support him. As long as these people do not step forward to oust Koirala, no other rebel will be successful.

- Manish

Girija Prasad Koirala is a diplomat without weight in the country. This weightless culture has damaged the country's image outside. History has proved that he prefers mid-term elections to resignation. So, in my opinion, rebels have no chance to take away his chair.

- Gayatri Rai

Whether rebels can oust Girija Prasad Koirala or not is the question. What the general public want is improvement in their lifestyle. The economy, health status and education are more important today than fighting for chairs. Koirala might have come to power on a wrong note, but removing him is certainly not the solution. Unless some one in NC comes with a concrete proposal and work plan to develop the country, his removal will only invite political instability.

- Sajan Chhetri

What can one say? To be defeated by the rebel in NC is a routine type of thing. It has happened in the past and will happen in future too. Those jealous partners who surround Koirala are there always for all time. Some months back, when Girija Prasad Koirala was in the rank of rebels, he played the same game with the existing leaders. So, as a rule of nature, he also has to face defeated at the hands of rebels.

- Pashupati

Koirala is a weak old man. Weak in body, weak in leadership, weak in the brain. He will not stand long. Yes, he had a great chance but he blew it. He could have been a national hero but now the hero is somebody else who works for the country and respects the law. Girija Prasad Koirala is a leader without knowledge of law.

- Ram Bahadur

We hear on the streets the storm gathering strength. It will blow Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala right out of his chair. He will soon be forgotten like all the other non-heroes and this place will know him no more.

- Tek Thapa

Nepal is stuck in a vicious cycle of no good. It is getting worse higher up on the hierarchy. The people, the peasants are the ones working the hardest and getting nothing. The country is in a sorry state. It needs a new leader, not Deuba who introduced and cultivated the Pajero culture.

- Dara Singh

Girija Prasad Koirala is a strong leader and his rebels cannot oust him without having a concrete plan for the development of the country. Everyone talks of power but no one knows how to develop the country. Both Deuba and Bhattarai belong to same breed who have come from Banaras. They have very limited mind. They cannot think beyond that. We should know this before answering.

- Rajan KC

God could not punish the devil for power. Power is such a weapon that kills weak, innocent and good people only. The myth that we have been taught by our parents is just contrary to what we see with our naked eyes. The one who can oust Prime Minister must, therefore, be a more ruthless devil.

- Sanjay

Although in the past, GP has made a lot of mistakes and also given a hard time to the party, but at this juncture, when the country is in crisis every where, he should not be removed. There has not been any leader in NC who has demonstrated the capability to unite and move ahead in times of utter pressure. If there is no better option than sparing Koirala to lead the country, he should be allowed to continue.

The country is at a crossroads and in a dilemma, all should look for the prosperity of the country and there should not be infighting all the time. Now the time has come to test who all are dedicated, uncorrupt and looking for the interest of the nation and the people as a whole. If the leaders in NC are involved in corrupt practices, they should not be given any good office. There are plenty of supporters with capabilities and honesty willing to contribute to the nation and the party, they should be tested now, leave the cotorie and small groups for ever.

- Ramesh

It matters a great deal. The future of Nepal depends on the ouster of Koirala. Stop making him out to be a god. He is nothing. He is given too much honour for his dishonourable work. What Nepal needs at the crossroads is Koirala to step down. There is no respect for Koirala. Let a real man lead.

- Bhoj