National 4 (Spotlight Weekly)

Political Pollution

In public colleges across Nepal, students are finding it hard to separate politics from education

By AKSHAY SHARMA

Sunil Kami was a brilliant student in the north-eastern Nepalese district of Taplejung, who went on to complete his intermediate education in political science in the nearby township of Dharan.

Students raising slogans : Mired by politics

After receiving his degree, Sunil tried to get admission at Kathmandu's Tri-Chandra College to pursue further education. But he was denied admission because he lacked the proper political backing to enroll in a public college. Since he could not afford the fees of the capital's many private colleges, his options were limited.

In order to get into a public college he realized had been infected by student politics, Sunil knocked on the doors of politicians for two years. One member of parliament noticed his plight and called the student union at Tri-Chandra College. After that, he was enrolled with extraordinary speed.

"Why don't you go to the student union? Maybe they can help you. They have a quota of seats that reserved for their own people. The others are enrolled after they pass the entrance examination," said Tri-Chandra College's administrator, Nuche Man Shrestha, told SPOTLIGHT, when asked about the extent of the political influence.

At a time when politics runs deep in every vein of the state, this phenomenon does not seem unusual. In colleges throughout the country, however, youths are finding it hard to separate politics and education and view the consequences with alarm.

"While the world spins along the right axis, Nepal spins on the opposite way," says Sunil. "The student organizations in public colleges are spoiling the education system. This will have negative consequences for coming generations."

Leading political organizations have student wings in public colleges. "They enjoy the right to admit students. Political connections, not academic qualifications, are what count," says Sanjeev Khatri, a student at Shanker Dev Campus.

Cultural evolution manages to transcend all barriers of the society stretching it so thin that it could snap. And the fragile nature of the transition of social values in Nepal needs to be tackled in time before the transition sweeps us away by surprise, say experts.

But students are not the only people suffering from the political virus. Teachers and administrative staff, have their own woes. "I left my teaching career and joined politics because I had to support a huge family," recounts a former MP. "I was the first person in the family to earn a living in Kathmandu. I had to support my family, my cousins and every relative in Jhapa."

Not everyone can make that jump, though. Those who stay often confront the consequences. "A teacher here is not respected by the students or by the policy makers. We are harassed by students. There have been cases where the campus chiefs are physically harassed by thugs who are the puppets for politicians. If we call the police and lock them up, the politician might free them. The next thing they will do is physically harass you," says a campus teacher at Tribhuvan University.

Colleges have always been used political battlefields by parties. During the Panchayat era, the banned political parties organized protests through their wings in public colleges. The government, for its part, scoured the same premises to recruit intelligence personnel.

Recognizing this as a direct assault on the core mission of "educating the public", some student leaders have spoken of the need to put an end to the politicization of campuses. Until that is done, the likes of Sunil, who come to Kathmandu from rural areas to pursue their studies, will continue to suffer.