Chaitanya Prasad Sharma is the Vice Chairperson of the Higher Secondary Education Board (HSEB), the autonomous body under which country's plus two education is conducted. Republica correspondent Nirjana Sharma caught up with Sharma to discuss issues surrounding the shortcomings the Board has to deal in the post-quake scenario that entails completely new circumstances.
HSEB tells +2 schools to start grade 11 classes from July 31
New demands in higher education post disaster:HSEB Vice Chairperson Chaitanya Prasad Sharma
How is the board dealing with the circumstances that emerged in post-quake scenario?
The board had to postpone the grade 11 and 12 exams twice following the April 25 Gorkha Earthquake and its strong aftershocks. The 11 graders are still sitting for the exam and 12th graders have completed recently. The students of the seven severely quake-hit districts are yet to appear in exam though the exam schedule has been published. The recently published SLC result has accelerated us to revisit the affiliation aspect of the higher secondary schools and the plus two colleges. Most importantly, we are making it sure that the schools and colleges that call students for admission are completely safe.
What is the status of schools and colleges outside Kathmandu valley?
Sadly, some schools and colleges outside Kathmandu have suffered more from the earthquake. Due to the limited manpower and infrastructure, independent damage assessment of colleges and plus two institutions by HSEDB has been slow compared to that done by the Department of Education (DoE). So most of the assessment is being carried out in coordination with the DOE. We are looking forward to publish the report soon.
A special committee has been formed to deal with the problems faced by the 14 of the worst earthquake affected districts. Meanwhile, DoE has allocated funds for constructing makeshift classrooms for the higher secondary schools that have been severely damaged by the earthquake. This initiative will ensure that the students will be soon able to begin their higher education.
How is HSEB planning to guarantee education for homeless students?
The special committee is tasked with the responsibility to determine the number of students needing immediate help to start plus two. It will categorize the type of assistance required for them. HSEB is committed to ensure that all kind of assistance ranging from residential school to textbook and scholarship is provided to the needy students.
Some experts have suggested on including disaster response issues in higher education. How is HSEB responding to such suggestions?
This is very genuine issue being raised by education experts. The Ministry of Education has already taken initiative towards including such issues in the school curriculum. HSEB looks forward to hold discussions with stakeholders for continuation of such issues at the plus two level as well. Such initiatives will ensure we as citizens of disaster prone country adopt better safety measures in our day to day life.
HSEB has often landed in controversy over scholarship distribution. What are your plans in this regard?
In the past HSEB's policy to grant affiliation to open plus two colleges was haphazardly monitored. But since last year things have started to change. We are getting strict on having colleges meet our quality guidelines. We have terminated affiliations of institutions that were not meeting HSEB's affiliation criteria and quality guidelines. This Monday only, we blacklisted 72 such schools and colleges. This list is available on our website, we urge the parents for checking it before enrolling their wards into any college.
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