The award-winning English playwright Alan Bennett has caused quite a stir in Britain after suggesting that the private education system in the country be abolished. He believes this is important in order to level the playing field between those born into power and privilege (and attending ‘elite’ private schools) and those who come from less illustrious backgrounds (and go to ‘average’ public school). Bennett bemoans the existing education system in Britain that accentuates the gulf between the two classes by stacking the odds heavily in favor of the already rich and powerful families. The Maoists in Nepal have been making more or less the same argument: the current education system only perpetuates deep-rooted social inequalities. This is the reason they have been pushing for nationalization of the entire system since the insurgency days.
But it is not just the Maoists who are deeply suspicious of the underlying motives of the operators of private education establishments. There is a widespread perception that rapacious private school owners routinely fleece unsuspecting parents. It does indeed seem like private school operators have looked to capitalize on the political mess in the country by defying even sensible regulations on fee structures and basic infrastructure. This was the reason the government introduced the Private and Boarding School Directive 2013, in line with the Supreme Court verdict on greater regulation of private schools last year. The new directive, among other things, caps admission and monthly fees, provisions for optimal and safe infrastructure and enhances students’ learning experience. These measures were long time in coming.
Interestingly, the Private and Boarding School Association of Nepal (PABSON), the umbrella organization of private schools in the country, which helped draft the directive, is now opposing it. It is doing so under pressure from its district chapters. The main gripe of the small schools outside Kathmandu Valley is that as per the new directive many of them will have to merge as they fail to meet the requirements on infrastructure and student number. Nearly 40 percent of the 10,000 private schools in the country will fail to meet the new requirements. But it is only right that the schools which cannot provide even basic facilities to their students merge into bigger, stronger entities that are better equipped to handle emerging challenges in the education landscape.
We do not for a moment believe that all complaints of private school operators can be dismissed out of hand. If they have genuine grievances, they can be addressed in the future through proper channels. But since the new directive was the result of elaborate discussions between all relevant stakeholders, and is in line with the Supreme Court verdict, PABSON would do well not to resist the much-needed changes. It must take its district chapters into confidence and convince small school operators that both they as well as the society will be best served by adhering to the new guidelines. Like we have repeatedly said in this space before, educational establishments cannot be operated with purely business motives. If some school operators are in it only for profit maximization, they are in the wrong business.
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