Ending Anomalies

HIS Majesty's Government lately announced some concrete plans to wipe out uncertainties and anomalies existing in the education sector and improve the quality of education in the country. Minister for Education and Sports Devi Prasad Ojha unveiled the 29-point plans for the reforms and improvement in the country's education. Under the new plan, Sanskrit is to be taught in the school as an optional subject, primary level education to be given in mother tongue. The secondary level education will be free for girls and students from Dalits, oppressed and backward communities.

Similarly, with the implementation of the new plans, private schools are required to contribute 1.5 per cent of their profit to the Rural Education Development Fund (REDF) and provide scholarship to five per cent students, among others. Most importantly, the Education Minister has vowed to free education sector from politics and politicisation.

Several efforts had been made in the past to improve the country's education sector. However, they remained in papers and rhetoric. Although there has been much progress in quantity, quality of education remained far from satisfaction. There are complaints from various sectors about the quality of Nepal's education system. The country's education sector has been suffering from various problems, which has resulted in the deterioration in the quality. The increasing violent activities of the Maoists and political intervention and politicisation are among the most serious problems that have plagued Nepal's education system. In the past, parties in power always misused educational institutions and students for their petty political interest. If the atmosphere of terror and heavy politicisation were discouraged and eliminated, it would, to a large extent, would improve the teaching and learning atmosphere, thereby, helping raise quality of education. There is a widespread feeling that most of the private schools are guided by the profit motives. The new plan to make mandatory for the private schools to contribute to rural education fund would not only create more resources for the public schools but also make the private schools transparent. These policies and plan are revolutionary in nature However, the effectiveness of the plan depends on their implementation and the present government, that has felt very urgent to bring about changes and reform in the education sector, is expected to sincerely and honestly implement these new plans in order to end the uncertainty in the education sector.

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