Those were the days! No sooner had SLC results been announced in early morning people would start queuing in front of the Gorkhapatra Sansthan at New Road. Since only the government-owned Gorkhapatra was authorized to publish the results, the two-rupee broadsheet would be sold in the black market for up to 100 rupees. Thanks to rapid advances in information technology, individual SLC results are now only an SMS away. But improvements in delivery of SLC results—a huge boon for nervous students and their nail-biting parents—have not been matched by improvements in overall results. Every year, nearly half of all SLC students fail the exams; and nearly all of those who fail are students from public schools. The trend is no different this year as over 52 percent of nearly 500,000 students who appeared for SLC this year have failed. There has been a slight improvement in the performance of community schools: 33 percent of their students have passed this year, a three percentage-point gain from last year. In comparison, nearly 90 percent of students from private schools have passed.One good thing about this year's SLC is that for the very first time grading system has been used to mark the 'technical' papers. The Office of Controller of Examinations hopes to eventually employ grading system to mark all SLC answer sheets. Such a reform is long overdue. The SLC examinations, menacingly dubbed the Iron Gate, have traditionally been given outsized importance. Once upon a time when the vast majority of Nepalis were illiterate, passing SLC exams was indeed a big deal. In far-flung villages the pass-outs were feted with flower and vermillion power and carried on horseback for a round of the village. But in today's knowledge economy, and with national adult literacy rate of around 60 percent, school education in itself counts for little. So what happens to over 200,000 students who have failed the exams this year? First of all, there is always a second chance. There is no reason passing SLC exams in second or third attempts should be any more shameful than taking an extra year to clear Bachelors- or Masters-level. Second, the earthquake-ravaged country needs thousands of extra hands to rebuild damaged infrastructure and to resurrect broken communities. Why can't the students who have failed to clear SLC be mobilized for the purpose? In return, they can be given small stipends or extra credits in future SLC exams. The practical knowledge gained in the process, arguably, would be much more valuable than high marks in purely theoretical subjects.
Rather than pour money into improving SLC pass percentage, by hook or by crook, the emphasis should be on improving the dismal state of our community schools. They need better teachers, better teaching facilities, and close monitoring to ensure that they adhere to minimum national standards. A dangerous gap is developing between the students who go to community schools and those who attend private schools; the latter get disproportionately more opportunities in higher education as well as the job market. The only way this gap can be reduced is if our public school operators can be made accountable for the results. The principals of the schools that get good results should be feted; the worst performers thrown out of office. Similarly, the pay and perks of teachers should be matched to education outcomes of their students. Muddling along, and continuing to 'fail' hundreds of thousands of students every year, is simply not an option.
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