SNAPSHOTS

A Nepali booter trying to get past a Korean player in ANFA-CocaCola Cup football tournament taking place in Kathmandu .

Spreading the light

P.L.Singh, the chairman of Mangala Devi scholarship fund organised a distribution ceremony of scholarships for one hundred and thirteen girl students from various schools. The fund which supported ten girls to start with has now grown ten fold in five years time. If only more people would come forward to contribute to this good cause, more poor girls would avail of the precious light of education. A small step but a noteworthy one, which will make its impact in years to come. Even the hotel Radisson where the event was held gave its space and tea free of charge for the event. The dream of the extraordinary lady Mangala Devi who was a strong advocate for girl child education lives on.

Call-In Radio Mixes Celebrities & Tough Talk

Kathmandu’s newest style of radio show was unveiled last Sunday, promising to change the format of radio in Nepal. “Platform Radio features Nepal’s leading celebrities from entertainment to business to politics and development, giving listeners the chance to ask tough questions and demand straight answers,” the host Kapil Tamot said.

“This is a dramatic moment for radio in Nepal,” said KATH FM programme coordinator, Bharat Shakya, “This mix of celebrities, phone-in questions and music has proven to be a blockbuster in America and Europe. Now this format is available in Nepal, with home-grown celebrities, in Nepali”.

Broadcast every Sunday night from 8 to 9 p.m., Platform Radio was inaugurated on Sunday January 23 by  Neer Shah, the actor and producer. Future guests will include Shyam Kakchapati (entrepreneur and restauranteur), Bhola Thapa (leading travel agent), Gita Rana (principal, Galaxy School), and other leaders of industry, government, development and arts.

“Our guests are the people who are changing Nepal, and Platform Radio gives everyone a chance to ask the questions that never get reported,” says Kapil Tamot “Whether you want to know the inside secrets of film-making, the key to success in business, or how today’s policies affect our economy and our future. Platform Radio is the answer.”

Free primary education -- A snap poll

An overwhelming majority of the people are in favour of making primary education compulsory and free. A snap poll taken by the Media Services International (MSI) between October 28 and November 3 in the Chitwan Valley recorded 93% of the respondents voting for compulsory primary education in Nepal.

While only 6% of those interviewed was not sure if the idea was a good one, 1% did not express any opinion whatsoever.

Asked about their monthly expenditure on their children’s primary education excluding the tuition fee which is free, 54.8% said between Rs. 200 and 1000 for sons, 32.7% said less than Rs. 200 and 5.5% said above Rs. 1000. Seven percent did not provide any information.

 Similarly, in the case of daughters 58.8% said the monthly expenses for the same was between Rs. 200 and 1000, 26.6% said less than Rs. 200 and 10.1% said above 1000. Those in the “don’t know” bracket accounted for 7% of the respondents.

Expenses apart, 96% of the respondents said that they were willing and could afford to send their daughters to the secondary level after completing the primary level education. Only 3% of the interviewees said they could not afford secondary level education for their daughters. An equal percentage said they did not know.

Other findings of the poll:
- Housewives know less about free primary education.

- girls outnumber boys in primary schools.

- higher the level, greater the rate of girl drop-outs

- male-female ratio in university enrollment is approximately 7-3.

The poll survey was undertaken with the cooperation of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, London.