COMMENT

One good deed not enough

It must be called a historic decision. The homework may have been started earlier for this job, but the present Nepali Congress government has done well by abolishing bonded labour, which had been prevalent for ages in different parts of the country. Not only individuals, but whole families were kept like slaves, just because their forefathers may have erred by borrowing money from some landlord of the village. Because of the lack of awareness and also fraudulent documentation of the landowners, the bonded labours, called kamaiyas, mostly don’t know what they owed and when they could pay back the amount taken years back. Generations may have worked for a pittance and still they didn’t have a life to call their own. It is difficult to imagine that this inhumane practice continued even till the 21st century. But with an announcement in the Parliament on Monday, Minister for Land Reforms and Management Siddha Raj Ojha, informed the nation that bonded labour had been abolished once and for all and the Kamaiyas had also been freed from any debt they owed through any written or verbal bonds.

However, no matter how good a work the government may have done by taking this historic step, its responsibilities towards the poor people who were virtual slaves to their rich masters till now, will not be over with just this one good deed. This is just the beginning. Different socio-economic projects must be started in different areas of the country to allow the kamaiyas to make a new life after their freedom. It is sure the government cannot go so far, like mentioned by Nepal Majdoor Kisan Party chairman Narayan Man Bijuckche, to give the land they tilled to the kamaiyas, but certain provisions have to be made to allow the poor people to start afresh. In fact, many of the kamaiyas may feel insecure in their new found freedom, because they have always been looked after by their masters. Therefore efforts must be made to insure that the kamaiyas have enough confidence to break free from the chains that had bonded them to their cruel masters for generations. A black chapter in Nepalese history has finally ended with the present government decision, but for it to really mean anything, the people who have suffered so much till now, must be helped whole-heartedly by everyone, the government, political parties and other institutions from the private sector.

Garbage city

Soon Kathmandu will be known as the garbage city if the public and the government do not find a solution to the garbage floating around in the city. The public has to offer a viable solution instead of only protesting against the dumping sites chosen by the government; and the government should be farsighted while taking decisions - the interest of the public always as the first priority.

The garbage problem can only increase what with the fast growing population and the steady influx of immigrants into this small city. A community based approach would be a wise step to start with - making each member of every community responsible for the wastes and for the disposal of it.

Educating the public on the nature of easily disposable wastes, encouraging them to buy products that are recyclable and or reusable would reap long term benefits. Teaching the public to separate wastes, encouraging the manufacturers to use environment-friendly packaging materials would also ensure that we do not have to face a future full of wastes.

It would do all of us well if we learn from other developed countries in South East Asia, their techniques of waste disposal. Well paid efficient man power, necessary equipment, fixed timing for waste pick up from each and every corner of the city and strict separation of wastes by each household; are the basics that we have to start with.

It is high time the government started looking seriously into the modern technology of waste management and garbage disposal. They should start importing the technology and the expertise from other countries and start training local manpower. It is no longer only the question of where to dump the wastes. The wastes can only increase and no amount of dumping site can solve the problem.

Nepal's educational system needs fundamental change

By Rajeeb L. Satyal

Nepal’s political parties and leaders appear incapable of solving our national problems. More than that, they have not even begun to identify the issues and problems to be addressed. The characteristics of effective leadership, clear vision, creativity, innovation and ethical behaviour; seem to be absent.

What is the reason behind our present lack of effective leaders? Could it be a fundamental flaw in our educational system? Like many emerging nations, Nepal has adopted a rote learning approach in education, which has remained unchanged since formal education was first practised. Is it surprising, then, that we cannot turn out citizens and leaders who demonstrate clear vision and independence?

Nepal’s formal education system is just one point of a triangle. The others are our religious, social and cultural values. Together they form an integrated, self-supporting unit, forming our identities and directing our actions as Nepalese.

This education system, long since abandoned by more developed nations, tests students’ memory while ignoring their skills. It barely addresses issues such as developing leadership qualities, moral values, self-confidence and creativity.

The education system of Nepal is not designed to develop leaders, original thinkers, learners, creators, inventors or innovators. This fact is not just true at pre-primary level, but also, sadly, at our country’s universities. The system creates citizens who have memorised a ‘solution’ for each ‘problem’. But in real life, we constantly face and must respond to new problems that we have never met before. Can we find the answers to these problems in books, or among the existing solutions? Each situation we encounter is new. So should be its solution.

This country’s leaders are also the products of the same society. If you can imagine this country’s leaders as victims, then they are also the victims of the rote learning education system initiated by forefathers. These leaders were taught to seek a ready-made solution for pre-defined problems. When our leaders encounter problems, they look for solutions that worked in the past, or worked elsewhere. But today is not yesterday. They think that ‘if it worked then, it will work now’.

The same is true for the Nepal Bandh (Strike). The Nepal Bandh was an effective tool in overthrowing Panchayati System. However, it is not the magic wand our leaders believe it to be. Does the Bandh address national problems and issues such as corruption and poverty?

These leaders who instigated the Bandh follow their own linear rationale. Those who participate share the same reality - that what worked yesterday will work today. But the reality they knew has already changed while they were looking elsewhere. They are using what worked ‘then’ to deal with what is happening ‘now’. Never in the past has learning become so obsolete, so quickly, as today.

How can we avoid repeating today’s mistakes in the future? If our formal education system were to focus on teaching students on how to learn - rather that feeding them soon to become obsolete information - we might have a chance. In fact, we would have more than a chance. By educating the children of today - now - to be flexible, inquiring and creative - we will be guaranteeing citizens of tomorrow who will be the caretakers of our cultural identity. Is it too much to dream of a Nepal that is an academic center of excellence? It only takes one generation.

Unfortunately, Nepal’s education system is still following the same rote learning approach at all levels of the education system. This is not just true of schools, colleges and universities, but also of the majority of training events organised at various levels. Many people believe that the education system is getting better and better. How can they say this while we have yet to develop an appropriate indicator to measure the quality of education, which is linked to any national and individual future vision?

Certainly, there are some schools trying to bring changes in teaching methods and design. Sadly, they can not go far due to the flaws in the fundamental system and policy. The best schools in Nepal are judged by their SLC (School Leaving Certificate examination) performance, which forces them to follow rote / examination-oriented learning, whether they like it or not. All apparent attempts to improve the education system are superficial and will prove futile unless there are fundamental changes in the education system at the national level. The concern now is who will do it? Who will rescue the Nepalese from this counter-productive and obsolete system? The only thing we seem to know is how to import ideas from other countries without doing our homework first. And while we are copying our neighbours ‘answers’, it never occurs to us that they might have got it wrong.

The present leaders, irrespective of their political values and their formal or informal qualifications, have one thing in common - they have nothing new to offer. The ‘Nepal Bandh’ seems to be their magic tool to solve all the national problems. This is a typical example of convergent thinking where only one answer to a question is found. It is a typical effect of the rote learning system.

Blaming others is easy. But the actual fault is in the system, which must be corrected fast. This is proving costly to the nation. With increasing international competitiveness, our delay in addressing this situation may prove fatal. What are the Nepal Bandh, the Maoist problems, the rampant corruption and the pervading poverty? Nothing but a manifestation of a system that does not work. All are symptoms of a disease, more intense and deeper than it appears.

We need to bring fundamental changes in our thinking and value system to effectively address urgent issues like corruption, violence, and poverty. We must move from adaptive learning to creative learning, and from a convergent to a divergent problem solving approach. We must let go of our negative approaches and perceptions, and embrace the positive.

The quickest way is to take a fundamental look at the education system of this country. If we improve it now we may expect a result after 15-20 years. This may sound like a long time, but, in the national context, is very brief. We need an education system that is appropriate to our own national context and our own needs. We need an education system that is responsive to the environment, national vision, and value system that we want to promote. We must promote divergent and creative thinking. If we miss this opportunity, we put our children’s future at risk. They will experience the results of the choices we make today.

Government (non) functioning questioned

By Krishna Bhatta

It is not a big secret that the fourth time Prime Minister G.P. Koirala is an ambitious man. Indeed the way he projected K. P. Bhattarai as the next PM during the last general elections and the way he got rid of him so that he (GP) can become the become the PM is a testimony to this fact. It is a different matter that such reprehensible and nauseating methods do not make him the most popular politician in the country. But, he does not care much, either.

This time however, it was not easy, as he had to fight against Deuba in the first ever election in the Nepali Congress-a party that Koirala has treated like a personal fiefdom of his and that of his clan- for the leadership of the parliamentary party. Deuba lost the election to Koirala, but unexpectedly was able to muster a significant number of votes against the hitherto strong man. So, a viable opposition against the authoritarian ways of Koirala appears to be emerging inside the NC and which indeed is good for the health of internal democracy of NC.

This opposition has been manifesting itself more and more recently, when a number of NC MPs appear highly critical of the way Koirala’s government has been functioning. Koirala charged Bhattarai’s government of non-performance before ousting it unceremoniously but the performance of his own government today, lacks luster.

The most glaring failure of the present government is its inability to take any worthwhile initiative to resolve the Maoist problem. In fact, the police department, that was never considered to be the most professional and efficient; on the face of Maoist problem today, increasingly looks jittery and lacking in confidence.

It is strange that the police department has blamed everything under the sun, but itself, for its disappointing failure. It has even become successful in convincing the government to establish a new wing of the armed police to exclusively tackle the Maoist problem, after spending billions of rupees of a loan driven country - under the very leadership of it’s venal and incompetent top brass.

In fact, the self perpetuating instinct of the retirement-nearing top brass of the police has proven to be sharp indeed. So, the need of a cathartic cleansing of the existing police force-of mediocrity, inconsistency, corruption and nepotism has effectively been obfuscated and swept under the carpet, due to the complicity of it’s top brass and a conniving political leadership.

May be the whole exercise of spending billions of rupees of a poor country, in establishing another police force is unnecessary and through negotiations the solution of the Maoist problem can be achieved almost free of the cost and the money can be better utilized in strengthening the dilapidated health or education sectors of the country.

But, the conflicting opinions emanating from the Prime Minister and other ministers of the government only signal that the government is not serious about a peaceful solution of a festering problem, particularly at a time when the Maoist leaders appear more keen than ever to negotiate a cease fire.

May be there are such elements in the government, those do not want the problem to be solved as early and as easily and instead want to harp on it to misappropriate the public resources by first (mis) allocating them on the pretext of solving the problem. However, after so much loss of lives, energy and property during the last four years of the Maoist problem, the efforts to politicize the same to serve the narrow political ends by the politicians will prove to be a grave mistake and a criminal dis service to the cause of the nation.