Forum (Spotlight Weekly)

Nepal’s Literacy Goals: Illiterate Women Should Be At Focus

By Meg Dixit

“Empowering women means empowering the Nation,” this bold announcement made by former Minister of State for Information and Communication, Hari Narayan Chaudhary, at the UN Literacy Decade program during last year’s International Day celebration has proven to be in vain as neither the plight of women nor the nation saw any major developments to boast about at this year’s 35th annual International Literacy Day on September 9.

Not only is the country weakened by violent political disturbances and guerilla warfare, but figures released by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) last week show that Nepali women are in desperate need of education. The report shows that while the national literacy rate rose to 42.8% in 2001 from 25% in 1991 with great strides made by men, 60% of Nepali women remain illiterate, and 80% of women in mountain regions cannot even read or write.

Statistics like these should encourage the government to take a more assertive role in education. The CBS stated that “only a well-pioneered effort” can solve this problem in order to reach the government’s commitment to set gender equality in education by 2015. To attain this goal, programs for adult education, particularly in the mountain regions, as well as the availability of libraries in public schools should be carefully examined.

A process like this will probably reveal what was reported by a study completed earlier this year by the Nepal Library Association (NLA) which found that 90% of government schools are operating without libraries, and in the meager 12% budget allocated for education by the Ministry of Finance, no funding for the building or maintenance of libraries is supported.

Libraries are an integral part of education. They assist students with reading and research skills through books, maps, periodicals and of course, technology. Libraries complement any academic endeavor and provide a positive and stimulating learning environment.

With a turbulent history behind them, libraries have come a long way in Nepal. Under the rule of the Ranas from 1847 to 1951, the general public was forbidden to open libraries or anything similar to them. Written reference materials were stored in temples and homes of priests and royalty. Only nobles and others granted permission were allowed to use them. The most tumultuous period known as “Library Purba” erupted in 1930 when about 47 youths were arrested for operating a public library in Kathmandu. After the Rana rule was overthrown in 1951, public libraries were erected by civic and social groups around the country.

Today, there are about 600 public libraries in the country. But the ratio of libraries to public schools is disproportional because there are over 20,000 primary and over 10,000 secondary schools (including lower secondary) in Nepal. This doesn’t do any justice for the illiterate populace or for students who could greatly benefit from having functional and sanitary libraries in their schools. Libraries in government-run schools suffer poor management and infrastructure, and lack financial support.

Thus, the current situation has left Nepal’s youth and illiterate women at the mercy of social service groups such as Books In Every Home, an organization founded in Kapilvastu (once known to be home of Buddha’s family) that promotes reading in the Midwestern terai; Rural Education and Development (READ), a non-profit foundation that helps build libraries in villages throughout Nepal; as well as international organizations like UNESCO for Community Learning Center and Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA), which finance tenant improvement projects in libraries and schools.

Officials in the Ministry of Education and of Finance need to revisit the consequences of what they are doing and what they are not doing to improve literacy for those who need it most. Building more libraries in public schools with legislation to ensure proper management, as well as the development of educational programs targeting women in mountain regions, are necessities in winning the battle against literacy. The excuse that there is not enough money available for these initiatives can’t challenge the dire need proven by data released by both the CBS and the NLA in recent reports.

Because developing new programs or enhancing existing ones, as well as building new facilities will take time, the use of established libraries for educational programs should be encouraged. The Kesar Pustakalaya in Kathmandu, former palace of Keshar Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana who bequeathed the facility to the government upon his death, holds over 50,000 books including 1,000 year old texts about the Vedas. Another comparable library is the Nepal National Library which opened in 1957 and is located at Harihar Bhawan in Patan. This library holds over 43,000 books and periodicals. The usage of remarkable facilities like these will stimulate learning and demonstrate the benefits of library usage.

Taking into consideration the enormous stake here, which is of the welfare of Nepali women and the plight of future generations, it’s high time the government does its own homework to successfully fulfill the nation’s literacy goals.

(Dixit is a freelance writer)