In order to determine the status of community schools, the Ministry of Education (MoE) studied the implementation status of the five Prioritized Minimum Enabling Condition (PMEC) indicators in the community schools accross the country. Only 842 schools were found to be implementing the prioritized conditions out of the total 23,224 community schools that provided all the data of PMEC status in their schools. That means less than 4 percent schools in the country have met the PMEC indicators.
The community schools´ data in Kathmandu Valley is no exception as only 6.3 percent public schools in valley have met the PMEC targets, with only 36 schools of the total 569 surveyed succeeding in the PMEC test.
After failing to ensure 25 child-friendly Minimum Enabling Condition Indicators (MEC) under its School Sector Reform Plan (SSRP), the Department of Education (DoE) last year introduced the five PMEC to be implemented in all community schools.
The indicators include providing proper classrooms, assuring appropriate student teacher ratio, ensuring timely delivery of free textbooks, maintaining book corner in school and building separate toilet facilities for girls.
Under the SSRP, introduced in 2009, the government was to create proper environment in terms of infrastructural and social aspects in all the community schools across the country by 2015. However, the DoE minimized scope of reform following slow progress despite the huge investments made in the sector.
The student classroom ratio has always been a debated topic across the world. Research shows that 70 percent of the adults believe that reducing class size would result in big improvements.
DoE study has found that as many as 37,311 classrooms across the country fail to meet the PEMC target. In valley alone 165 schools lack 691class rooms.
The report also showed that only 2,000 schools have computer whereas 27,000 schools lack it.
In Bhaktapur, almost 35 percent of public schools lack the required number of classrooms.
Out of the total 139 public schools in the district, 48 schools require additional classrooms. Likewise, 53 schools in Kathmandu require more classrooms.
In Kathmandu, 91 percent schools lack library, whereas only 14 percent schools in Bhaktapur have the facility. Similarly, 90 schools in Lalitpur do not have library.
Likewise, there is a need of 60 teachers across the public schools in Bhaktapur to meet 37:1 student-teacher ratio. Kathmandu needs 165 and Lalitpur 116 to meet the ratio.
Similarly, 47 schools in Kathmandu, 43 in Lalitpur and 29 in Bhaktapur lack separate toilets for girls.
DoE Director Tek Narayan Pandey admitted that public school infrastructures must be improved first to get better results.
Educationist Kedar Bhakta Mathema suggested increasing spending per student to enhance their learning capacity. He added that teachers also need to be trained to create a child-friendly environment.
People are losing faith in the government schools because of their poor infrastructures and teachers, he added. The government must aggressively improve the community schools and establish new schools to attract both guardians and students, he added.
Educationist Tirtha Khaniya feels that the education system of Nepal can be discussed from both positive and negative perspective for hours.
In 1990, the government came up with a plan to make schools accessible for all in the school-going age group, which has almost been fulfilled with current school enrollment rate standing at 95 percent.
Around two dozen Valley-based community schools were shutdown following zero enrollments in the last academic year, according to Kathmandu District Education Officer Baikuntha Aryal. "More schools are on the verge of closure following for the same reason in the new academic year. Similar is the case in Lalitpur and Bhaktapur as well," Aryal added.
To uplift the public schools, the MoE has recently introduced a 23-point guideline to be implemented by the Department of Education (DoE). The DoE would be defining all the responsibilities of the particular offices under it for effectiveness, said the DoE Director Pandey.
MOE introduces new guideline to get better results
Upset over the declining pass rate among the students of the community schools, the MoE asked all the schools run under government grants to restrict their teachers from participating in political seminars, workshops or any sort of protest programs.
The ministry also directed the offices under it, district school observers and resource persons to compulsorily monitor classrooms and student activities and prepare a review every month. Likewise, all subject teachers have been asked to prepare a self-achievement benchmark for every grade they teach and send each copy to the Resource Centers and District Education Offices (DEO). One copy of the document needs to be submitted to the headmaster, the directive reads.
Similarly, the ministry has also instructed the DoE and District Education Offices to make the schools send quarterly examination results of 10th graders to the Resource Centers and DEO for evaluation of the students who are set to appear in SLC exams.
Likewise, every school must implement students´ progress program, aiming best results in SLC. The MoE Joint Secretary Sharma added that the DEO and the Resource Persons would be responsible to prepare and implement the code of conduct for both teachers and students.
The MoE has also introduced the reward and punishment system for the secondary level education in a bid to relate students´ progress with teachers´ performance. Similarly, the headmasters have been assigned to prepare a profile of all the teachers and update them on the basis of students´ exam results. The schools have been directed to compulsorily implement academic calendar strictly.
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