Declining schooling

The local government, Sihandarbar and the Ministry of Education are silent despite knowing. The education policy itself also says that assistance can be taken from the community. However, if the poor parents are unable to pay, the students are humiliated. They are deprived of studies and exams.

Now, some government schools have made students wear colorful clothes instead of blue color by teaching private ones. That too should be bought from the school, and the tracksuit should also be worn. In the last three months, when I visited about 50 schools in the Far West and East, I asked the teachers after seeing this situation, "Does the students and parents have problems when they are forced to wear different clothes instead of the government school uniform?" Even if it is by changing clothes, it has become a situation to show newness.'

The level of education is declining. Students cannot read and write Nepali well. Some teachers were also found to be lazy towards teaching and learning. Why not pay attention to education reform but have to keep changing clothes? Despite the lack of monitoring by the Ministry of Education and its subordinate agencies, such situations are rampant in schools.

I sent an email to 20 municipalities in Kailali, Ramechhap, Banke and other districts to see if the local government can do something about this. However, no one answered. Maybe the email wasn't viewed or executed. Even the education ministry of the province has not paid attention to such activities taking place in the schools under it. Now there is a rush to open a 'university' in every province.

When the established universities are in a state of disrepair, why don't the provincial government, which wants to open a new one, see the disorder, irregularity and plight of their schools? What happened if students of government schools do not know how to read and write, but private schools are good. Even with the mentality that they pass 90 percent, the quality of education has not improved. I have heard many laborers say, 'There is no education in government schools, so even if I eat half my stomach, I will send my children to private schools.' Even in this situation, the Ministry of Education continues to be proud that our educational level is good.

There are also cases of government school teachers beating students for not doing their homework, and how many students have dropped out. In a village in Kailali, after a teacher beat a girl on the head, he said, "Send me to that school, whatever happens." Now his parents are preparing to send him to another government school away from home. In my estimation, 5 percent of government schools have raised the standard of education by bringing together the prominent people of the community, collecting resources from many sources, and hiring good teachers. Such schools also take money from parents. It is a practice in some places to raise money by discussing to keep qualified teachers.

The mid-day meals given to students by the Ministry of Education are also ineffective. Some schools say, ``We give Rs. 15 a day to the parents of the money that comes in the name of the student. We cannot cook lunch and give it to eat. The school said that due to the rising cost of food, they could not afford to hire a cook or buy gas. Some local levels are providing lunch even though they have added some amount. On the other hand, the government is under the illusion that all children are eating nutritious food. Children of any Minister, Secretary or Ministry of Education staff will eat lunch for 15 rupees?

It is not meant to say that all officials of the Ministry of Education are ignorant. Some must have understood. Agile management, selection of qualified teachers, the role of principals and the interest of parents can be improved if the education of government schools is improved. Students need quality education, not different clothes. However, even parents cannot speak on this. Now the local government has become a strong base for the people. Isn't it too late for people's representatives to be interested in the educational situation?