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Disturbing Disparity
As more than 3,00,000 students are waiting for the results of the final high school examinations, the disparity between the urban and rural youth has become even more conspicuous. The priorities they set after the SLC exam are entirely opposite. While the youths from the rural areas are faced with the challenge of finding work to make their ends meet before they can think of anything else like further education, the youths from the urban areas are under stress to choose proper subject or institute in order to secure a promising career
By THAKUR AMGAI
Laxman and Saloni were born on the same month of the same year. However, their living standard, concerns, priorities and issues differ to such an extent that they resemble as people from two different generations.
Laxman who hails from the western district of Gorkha, 100 miles west of capital, seems to be living in an era, which Saloni's father had lived some 25 years ago.
"I have recently appeared for the SLC exams and have come to the city to look for a job and continue my further studies," said Laxman. "I am forced to leave the village because there are no opportunities in the village. There are no colleges to study and no offices, industries or markets to get a job and work."
Poverty is the main challenge of rural youths like Laxman. "I am in urgent need of a job because my family cannot afford my further education. Instead, as a grown up son, I also have the responsibility towards my family."
Laxman represents the problems and aspirations of hundreds of thousands of rural youths of this country whose issues, priorities and challenges are worlds apart from their urban counterparts.
Of the total 23 million people of the country, over 5 million are youths between the age group of 10 to 19. And around four in every five youths live in the villages.
Laxman who shares a shabby one-room apartment with a friend in Dallu, in capital Kathmandu, spends most of his time looking for jobs. His mornings are spent looking at the vacancy advertisements posted in newspapers and the days applying to them.
"In addition to responding to the vacancy announcements in newspapers, I have also met and requested almost all of my acquaintances living here in Kathmandu to find me a job, but to no avail," Laxman laments. "It is very difficult to meet the high costs of living in Kathmandu without a source of income."
In sharp contrast Saloni has a far more privileged life. She is taking a training to become a radio anchor and uses the rest of her time listening to music, going out with friends and reading novels. Unlike Laxman, she does not need to do the cooking, washing and cleaning and other household chores herself.
Other urban youths, too, share the lifestyle of Saloni. Students who have just completed the high school exams are either taking a training in one of their interest areas like Saloni or joined one of many 'bridge course classes' run by private institutes in order to bridge the curriculum gap between secondary and higher secondary schools. The facility to take the bridge courses and other trainings are also available in other cities like Biratnagar and Birtamod, Dharan in east, Pokhara and Bhairahawa in west and Birgunj, Chitwan, Janakpur in central region.
According to National Living Standard Survey II, only 15 percent of people are living in the urban areas out of 28 million population of Nepal. Kathmandu valley alone has about 1.5 million population.
The versions of these two contemporary youths reflect the grave disparity prevalent in our society. While one small faction of the youth is privileged to use and enjoy the latest developments in the world, the larger chunk faces the challenge of making their ends meet at such early age.
The existing government policies has made it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to get proper further education for the most of the youths from the rural areas of the country.
Disparity in education is also further aggravated by the ongoing conflict situation in the country. The schools, which are already in a poor condition, are further disrupted frequently by various events attributed to the insurgency. The intimidation and fear of abduction has made the situation worse.
Youths cover the largest sector of population in Nepal. According to the population survey statistics 2001, the age of 23 percent or more than 5 million population of Nepal is between 10-19 years. The population of 10-14 years of age groups comprises of 13.1 percent - or more than 2.5 million. Rural population makes up for the overwhelming majority of Nepal populace with only 12 percent living in the cities.
"While the rural youths find adjustment to the new environment, choice of faculty and choice of college as the main problem, the urban youths face problems like choice of institutes and under life skills," said Indu Chemjong, principal of Campion College and one of the few professional youth counselors of the country.
With easy access to information sources like newspapers, radio, television and Internet, urban youths are very knowledgeable in various fields.
"Urban youths know a lot of things, in many instances they have more information than we teachers," said Chemjong. "However, they require a lot of guidance to choose the right career."
"These students, many having graduated from renowned schools either travel abroad or for private sectors leaving the bureaucracy and public sector work to rural youths," said an educationist. "Thus, the disparity between the rural youth and urban youth will impart a very serious impact on the entire national administration."
At a time when the education quality in government schools is deteriorating, the rural youths are facing more problems in the education sector because of the conflict. Schools in many parts of the country have shut down.
"There is no environment of studying without fear in villages," said Laxman. "After passing school, it is impossible to stay in the villages for youths like us without siding with the rebels. And if we help the rebels we are intimidated by the security forces."
The conflict has made the already dilapidated educational standards of the villages worse.
"It is but a fact, that a high school graduate cannot properly write an application in most cases," said Babu Ram Pant, a teacher in a government school. "Not only the academic side, rural youths are way behind also in extra curricular activities, which are essential tools that are required in order to cope with this changing world."
Rural youths have little access to information and little time for recreation and out of school learning. The national radio is the only source connecting them to the rest of the world.
Rural youths are largely ignorant about the happenings around the world. They are brought up by their parents to follow the tradition and religion about handling household affairs.
"Youths from this area are very down to earth. They are driven by necessity and responsibility," says a social worker of Dhading district located adjacent to the capital Kathmandu. "They start taking the responsibility of the family since they are 15/16 years old."
"We have little option about choosing our career," said Shambu Thapa of Dhading. "Moreover, we have very little knowledge about the available options and possibilities. Our top priority after we finish SLC is to look for a job. Most of our seniors from this area are into tourism industry and probably I will do the same after the SLC results are out."
Girls in the rural areas are less empowered. Very few are privileged to decide the time of their wedding. The top priority of parents for girls as soon as they complete the high school exam is to marry them off.
Sunita Khanal of Gorkha district recalls her headmaster telling them time and again in her class, "Whether you like it or not, your objective of studying here is to get married (to get a good groom)."
She has just finished her high school exams and her parents are trying to fix her wedding as soon as possible. It is only if they fail to get a suitable groom that further studies come to their mind. "I would like to study further, but my parents are trying to marry me off."
Worlds Apart
Experts point at poverty as the major reason for the disparity. "Poverty has been seen as the major challenge for youths in the rural area," said Chemjong.
In addition, the environment and the opportunities the youths are getting are fuelling the disparity. "The world is changing fast. Urban youths get to witness these changes at a faster rate than the rural youths. In addition they get better environment of education, social interaction, guidance from seniors among others," said Narayan Prasad Sharma, principal of Budhanilkantha School. "While in sharp contrast the rural youths are deprived of most of these opportunities."
Sociologists, educators and others agree on the fact that disparity invites conflict. "Disparity creates envy among individuals which in turn creates social tension. It affects from individual to the global level," said Sharma. "And when the disparity reaches a certain extreme it creates conflict. The ongoing armed conflict is also a result of disparity."
While disparity is a global phenomenon and cannot be eliminated completely, in the words of educationist Dr. Tirtha Khaniya, the high rate of increasing disparity has made it urgent for the government to take some measures to address this problem.
"The government should make a certain level of education mandatory for everyone and should provide necessary resources for implementing this," said Dr. Khaniya who is also a former chief of Higher Secondary Education Board (HSEB). "Then, other things like education loans, providing part time jobs to students etc can be done by the private sectors also. But the government should come with a clear policy first."
As such, when the government is at odds it faces a lot of challenge to bring out a comprehensive policy to address the issue of disparity. Even the available resources are not being channeled properly. While, the education sector of the country is marred by various grave problems, the Ministry of Education, responsible for upgrading the educational standard of the country, is busy working out the framework of what it claims to be nationalist education.
"The private schools on the other hand are only helping to increase the disparity. At a time when the quality of education in government schools is deteriorating day by day, the contribution of private schools to the education sector of the country cannot be undermined, but they are not doing much to patch up the prevalent disparity between urban and rural youths," said an educationist. "Although, it is mandatory that every institutional (private) school must give set aside a certain number of seats for underprivileged students, it is not happening," said a private school entrepreneur who does not want to be named.
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