The unimaginable, sadly, has come true for many parents whose children failed the most basic alphabet and numeral tests administered by a team under British educationist Richard Thompson. The DFID-backed study conducted in 30 schools across six districts from different ecological belts, found that 10 percent students in the fourth grade could not understand Nepali alphabets. A full 25 percent did not recognize simple double-digits numerals.
Believe government figures, and nearly 55 percent of the Nepali populace is ‘literate’. The globally accepted definition of the word is: ‘the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material’. Apparently, a different definition applies to fourth graders in Nepal. Earlier this year a UNESCO report hinted at ‘significant improvement’ in primary school enrolment in the country. According to the report “the number of children enrolled in primary education increased by 1.2 million between 1999 and 2008”. But lest a wrong message be sent, it also flagged up the horrendous dropout rate: in 2009/10 period alone, 7.7 million students enrolled in grades 1-10 dropped out.
The much-touted Education for All (EFA) program, aimed at halving the number of people who cannot read and write by 2015, is all set to miss its target in Nepal, for a multiple of reasons. Critics have long complained about the shortcomings of the government educational drive, especially the implementation part of the UN-sponsored EFA. The achievement of the adult literacy campaign under the EFA is questionable; less in doubt is that millions of rupees ploughed into the program have gone missing.
The alarming school dropout rate, likewise, has been a huge cause for concern. But the latest findings suggest that the bigger problem might not be the high dropout rate, but the quality of education being delivered to even those who are attending regular classes.
Perhaps unsurprising in a country where it is a norm to appoint and reward public school teachers more on the basis of their political affiliations rather than their competence. Especially, the lack of competence in public school teachers is bolstered by the fact that while over 80 percent of private school students attend regular classes, just 53 percent of those enrolled in public schools do.
But more than the teachers, these dismal stats are a sobering reminder of how the state has failed in its responsibility to meet even the bare minimum health and education needs of its citizens.
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