Set right

The gap between the private and public schools in Nepal in terms of the equality of education is widening. In the last few years, the government schools have performed very badly in the School leaving Certificate Examination (SLC) in comparison to privately-run schools. Data has suggested that only 46 percent of the students appearing in the SLC exams from public schools have succeeded this year. In contrast, almost 90 percent of students appearing in this year´s SLC exams from private schools have succeeded. Last year, the gap in the SLC pass percentages of public and private schools was just 34 percent. Two years ago, that was only 26. Taking into account the record of the last 10 years, private schools have always maintained around 90 percent success rate while public schools´ success rate hovers around 30 to 50 percent. Clearly, this shows that there has always been a huge performance gap between public and private schools.



Although the SLC exams in itself is not the only yardstick to judge the quality of education, the fact remains that our public schools are doing very badly in every possible way. The schools despite receiving huge funds from the government are victims of politicization, bureaucratic interference, favoritism and very low quality of teaching staff. It is futile to expect pupils to perform well when hundreds of them are cramped in small classrooms, when teachers don´t take regular classes and when no emphasis in laid in encouraging extra-curricular activities and sports.



The private schools too have drawbacks. It is well-known that our private schools have resorted to all kinds of malpractices to show good results. But that has no bearing on government schools doing bad jobs. There is an inherent problem in the education system itself in Nepal. Education is knowledge; it is mainly about overall development of the personality of a child. Schools should be able to promote creativity and talent of its students while laying equal emphasis on academics. For this, all have respective responsibilities. While the government must ensure that schools are following norms and maintaining certain standards, the school management must take full accountability. No compromise can be made in hiring well-educated teachers even if that means raising their salaries and perks. Parents too have a major role to play in education of their wards. They cannot shy away from being involved and encouraging their children every day of their child’s school life.



Education is said to be the backbone of every country´s future. But Nepal has not invested enough on planning and implementing a quality education system. There are no yardsticks to measure that quality either. This means we are not investing in our future at all. Although this sector is said to be a priority, the decision-makers have in reality neglected it to an extent that now we probably need an overhaul of the entire system. But we must start now.

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