National 3 (Spotlight Weekly)

Deepening Uncertainty

The fresh strike call by Maoist-affiliated students adds to the woes of a sector already confronting a plethora of problems

By THAKUR AMGAI

Nepal's battered education sector is bracing for another disruption. The All Nepal National Free Students Union (Revolutionary), affiliated to the Maoists, have called a 15-day strike in educational institutions of Kathmandu Valley starting from December 9, and a nation-wide education strike from December 11 to 13.

Due to frequent strikes and vandalism in schools, a sense of terror has spread among parents, students and teachers. When it comes to small children, in particular, parents are not ready to take any risk; children stay home when there is the slightest possibility of violence.

Students : Trapped in uncertainty

The strikes become "successful" by default. The Maoists, however, equate the people's response as overwhelming support for their cause. The difference between intimidation and enthusiastic support is so easily ignored by a group that claims to be fighting for the welfare of the people.

The Maoist-affiliated students have put forward a 13-point demand this time, including a cut in the security budget to raise spending on education and an end to privatization and commercialization of the education sector. The government is far from even considering them.

The trend is familiar. The student union targets helpless children for the success of their political movement and the government is oblivious. A country can be prosperous only when its citizens are well educated. Increasing the education budget is, therefore, essential to create the conditions necessary for development. The only way to educate more and more people is to bring down the cost of education to levels everyone afford and make it accessible to all.

Making education cheap, however, does not mean ending privatized education. No one can ignore the importance of the private sector in education. The results have shown that the private sector can also do very well in this field. Moreover, it is for those who can pay for a better education. We should all understand that providing equal opportunity means raising standards, not bringing down excellence to the level of mediocrity.

The education system is drifting in uncertainty. The number of working days in the academic year has never been met in the last few years. This year, too, most schools are finding it difficult to finish the curriculum in time. The schools have been closed for more than 15 days in this academic year alone.

The concerned people do not seem serious about the matter. Problems that could have been resolved by dialogue are ignored. The secretary at the Ministry of Education said last week, "There is no possibility of a dialogue with the side declared as terrorists." The bureaucrat's loyalty to the government may be commendable, but he should also have thought of the consequences.

He further said the ministry would not ask any government schools to close. They will all run as usual. With active participation of the citizens,†he said, the private schools will also run.

His comments show that the ministry is very oblivious to what is going on in the country and that it wants to show itself as a perfectly efficient machine. Ironically, that is the most lacking part of the ministry.

Be it the uncertainty in the academic calendar or the 30,000 vacancies in the teachers' post, the education sector is saddled with endless burden. While the country is overwhelmed with unemployed educated youths, the schools in the villages are closing down due to lack of teachers. many schools are running with a very few teachers.

It is an irony that while many people are desperately seeking work, jobs are without people. Where does the meeting point exist?