Reforming Our School Education

The National Examination Board (NEB), Sanothimi, released the Grade XII results on Friday. A total of 390,868 students participated in the examination, which took place from April 26 to May 8. Among them, 203,847 students passed, while 187,021 students failed, resulting in a non-graded rate of 47.09 percent. Of the total students who passed, 9,591 achieved a GPA of 3.61 to 4. This includes 6,752 students from Bagmati Province, while only 24 students from Karnali Province attained this GPA. Additionally, 46,893 students received a GPA between 3.21 and 3.60, and 78,075 students obtained a GPA between 2.81 and 3.20. Out of the total examinees, 5,632 students did not appear for any subject, and the examination of 102 students was canceled. This year, out of 385,632 students who participated in the regular Grade XII exams, 231,235 students successfully passed, including those who benefited from grade enhancement. Compared to previous years, the results show some variation: 28.26 percent of students passed the grade enhancement examinations in 2078/79, whereas the pass rate was significantly higher at 62.5 percent in 2076/77.

According to NEB Chairman Mahashram Sharma, the overall result is an improvement, as the number of students achieving higher grades has increased this year compared to last year. If we look at the statistics of 51 percent of students passing Grade XII last year and 48 percent the year before, this statement of Sharma cannot be considered wrong. However, how our education system addresses the fact that almost half of the students who took the exam still failed will determine the future direction of the country. Why did so many students fail? If you ask most teachers, the answer is the same: students stop working hard in their studies, and it is natural to fail after not studying properly. We said this even when only 47 percent of students passed the last SEE exam. A question arises: Why did students not study then? Even though they attend classes and take exams, why are students not able to get good marks? What could be a greater failure of the learning process? It is said that when a student fails, the teacher who teaches them fails, and the school fails as well. Society, and ultimately the state itself, fails. But our schools, teachers, and government, who have accepted this statement, do not feel any sense of failure or inferiority in being responsible for failing students. It seems that they want to prove that their examination system is strict and strong by failing as many students as possible. That is why, even when millions of students fail, there is no serious discussion about anyone taking responsibility. The tears of the failed student and the pain of their family do not concern anyone. It is high time concerned bodies took necessary measures to reform the current structure of taking exams rather than teaching.

What happens when a student fails? Studies have shown that most failed students from poor families do not return to school. For girls whose families send them to school on the condition that they pass, staying at home and early marriage become the only options. How many children become psychologically affected due to the fear of failure? How many even commit suicide? They think that the destiny of life is blocked. Those who do not go back to school end up in a much cheaper and risky labor market, becoming Gulf workers. How many girls get involved in sex trafficking and juvenile delinquency? But it doesn't matter to our government because most of the failed students are from low economic backgrounds. They study in public schools, where children of government officials and wealthy people do not. That is why many projects for school education improvement have become mere money-making fairs from donors. Without considering the geography, society, and culture of their country, the school curriculum, examination methods, and evaluation systems created under the influence of donors from Western countries are not improving our education but turning the entire system into a laboratory where innocent children are becoming 'guinea pigs' and sacrificing their precious time. The recent results of Grade XII and SEE show that the country is heading towards the darkness of illiteracy, where the rulers are not concerned with education but only with power. We need to understand that no matter how significant the political change is in the country, no change can be permanent unless there is a transformation in the educational level of the people. It is illiteracy that causes deprivation, discontent, and conflict among the masses. No matter how 'progressive' the country is in terms of the constitution and political philosophy, if compulsory and proper education is not provided, the risk of 'regression' remains. We urge new Education Minister Bidya Bhattarai to take some bold and memorable initiatives to pass the failing state in school education. This is also the request of the future children of the country.