The political parties may have had their reasons which brought about such a situation, but those being affected by it are definitely not happy. This anger expressed by the affected is largely due to the frequency of such “banda’s". This is not the first time that this has happened. General strikes and sloganeering have become common practice.
Time and again, any unsatisfied group can call out a strike and paralyze the lives of people, including schools. They hardly seem to realize or regret the immense effect their move has on the education of the students that are the future of the country.
The students themselves seem to have had enough of the constant shutdowns and strikes. And why not, too?
According to Rajesh Khadka, the President of Private and Boarding Schools’ Organisation Nepal (PABSON), the constant shutdowns have left parents and also students discouraged.
“An academic session has to have a total of 220 days of school, but the situation in our country is such that there are hardly 170 teaching days at schools,” he says.
Khadka adds that this has led many parents to send their children abroad for studies. “Parents have now lost faith that the situation might get any better.”
The ‘faith’ factor seems to lacking in the students, too. They now seem to have found only one solution, similar to their parents: the solution of going abroad, rather than staying back and waiting for the situation to improve.
Sunrose Shrestha, 19, has completed his A-Levels from Budhanilkantha School and has decided to pursue higher education in the US. He blames the whole education system in the country. There is irregularity and uncertainty, he says.
“I’m going to the US because I think the quality of education is much better there than it is here,” he opines. Shrestha believes that although it might not be completely due to the political instability in the nation, it does play a huge part.
The number of students migrating to the US and other counties has significantly increased in the past few years. Although this year, the number is significantly lower compared to previous years, it is only because many of the exams that were scheduled to take place are delayed, and this too because of the political situation.
Rajendra Baral, General Secretary of ECAN (The Educational Consultancy Association of Nepal) says that the current political situation plays a huge role in the students’ decision to choose a foreign university.
Ashish Panta, a 16-year-old A- Level student at Chelsea International, says that he wants to leave the country as soon as possible.
“I don’t care which country I get to go to. I just want to leave Nepal,” he exclaims.
It has only been seven months since Panta came to Nepal. He had been living in India right from his early years. He is, however, so terrified and irritated by the political scenario here that he wants a credit transfer to any foreign university within a month.
But the situation, however, is not hopeless. There are also those who still have faith that one day everything will be alright. There are also those who wish to make things normal.
Sailesh Dhungana is of the opinion that the pathetic political scenario should be the very reason for the youth to stay back and do something to improve it. He himself is a student of Political Science at Princeton University, USA. He plans to complete his education and come back to join politics in Nepal.
“What I’ve learnt is that no matter where you go, your name is always joined to your country’s name; and so to save your identity, you have to save your country’s identity.”
Even though many leave Nepal every year for better education and life, there are also as many others who are willing to give up their comforts and come back to Nepal and do something to make their homeland a better place for both studying and living. For every student like Ashish who wants to leave immediately, there are also others like Sailesh who would rather face these difficult times at home than flee abroad.
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