There's Optimism

THE peace process seems to be moving ahead in the right direction as the coordinator and other members of the team of CPN (Maoist) for the talks with the government have come out of their hiding. This is a positive gesture in the sense that the government had made the necessary arrangements for creating the conducive atmosphere. The government's commitment and willingness for the peace talks is in no doubt at all. The cease-fire declared two months back is holding good and that speaks for how much urgency to end violence for good is being felt by all. The country's sufferings in the past seven years cannot be written in figures but when the way points to a better future it must be followed. There is no other requirement for development and prosperity than peace and the zeal to work for the good of all.

The Maoists too seem to have shown that they are ready to work for the "logical conclusion of peace talks". This means much to the Nepalese people in general. They have also expressed that peaceful political means would result in lasting peace being in place in the country. The government has always reiterated its stands on a peaceful solution. All through, acting on its allotted tasks, it has remained steadfast and committed to bringing about a peaceful conclusion to the peace talks to be initiated with the Maoists. The cease-fire itself is the result of the dire need for normalcy in the country. The response too has been encouraging. The days ahead will, hopefully, see the country coming out of its difficult days. Once peace returns there is bound to be a spurge in development activities for which the aspirations had been when the new millennium made its entry. A greater sense of dedication has to be present once the peace talks between the government and the Maoists come to the desired conclusion. The scenario at present banks on optimism and there is enough of it. With commitments and desire for peace from both the sides, it may not be inappropriate to see lasting peace becoming a reality in the not so far future.

Crossing Iron Gate

THE School Leaving Certificate Examinations (SLC), which is often dubbed as an iron gate for students, began from Sunday. According to the Office of the Controller of Examinations, more than 2,80,000 students are sitting for the SLC examinations this year, which is the highest number in the history of Nepal. For this, the government has made all necessary preparations and management for the smooth conduct of the examination. The growing number of students in the SLC examinations speaks of the fact that there has been steady development in the field of education in Nepal. His Majesty's Government has accorded a high priority to education sector and set aside a huge portion of national budget for the development of education. Larger part of this budget goes to school education. Different donor nations and agencies have also been supporting for the development of Nepal's education. As a result, there has been considerable progress in the education sector. The number of school, teachers, and students has, no doubt, increased tremendously. It has generated awareness among the people from every nook and corner of the country about the importance of education. However, there are complaints from various quarters about the quality of Nepal's education. Experts are of the opinion that Nepal has made more quantitative development in education sector rather than the quality. Its ample evidence is the failure of a huge number of students in the SLC examinations. In fact, less than 50 per cent students can fortunately get through the SLC examinations. Of this also, the share of private schools is very big. The percentage of public school students passing SLC is quite less than that of private schools. This is a clear indication that the quality of education in our public school is very poor, despite huge investment of the government. This is a waste of resources of the country. One of the reasons of deteriorating quality of education in our public schools is politicisation and political interference. Education institutes are places for teaching and learning where politics must be discouraged and eliminated. If politicisation is totally eliminated form school, there would be definitely good environment of teaching and learning, which would help enhance the quality of education in Nepal's overall education sector in general and public schools in particular. For this, the SLC examination needs to be taken as a yardstick for Nepal's education quality and necessary measures need to be made to raise the quality of education for the larger interest of the country and the people.