As we write this editorial, we are also mindful that about 32 percent examinees could not pass the SLC exam this time. No prizes for guessing that most of those who flunked the exam are either from government or community-run schools or poor families. Education is supposed to be a great leveler in any society but when quality education comes in class and category, it only widens and reinforces the social divide. In Nepal, the rich and the not-so-rich who somehow manage to save enough for their children’s education, prefer to send their young ones to private schools. The poor, for whom managing two square meals a day is a priority and a daily struggle, are however compelled to send their children to public schools. But look at the quality of public schools: They don’t have enough teachers; some of them even don’t have enough desks and benches and teach students under the open sky. When teachers are far short than required, monitoring their teaching and maintaining quality is out of question. Our public education system is in a complete mess and it needs immediate fixing.
Unfortunately, the debate on whether private education should be abolished is a misplaced one. No doubt, even private educational institutions need monitoring and their excessive commercialization and exploitation of parents and students needs to be checked. But, do not make the mistake of underestimating their contribution: Just imagine what would happen if there were no private schools. Will the public education system, with such a low level of funding and even less efficiency, be able to meet the educational need of our society? The answer is no. The state’s priority should, therefore, be in providing more resources to the public schools and improving their quality. A situation where one in every three students still fails the SLC exam should not be acceptable to us.
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