Every year after the results of Secondary Education Examination (SEE) are published in Nepal, there is a commotion among the government, ministers, stakeholders, educators and the media. After another week, it will disappear like a thundering cloud. It will be repeated again next year with the publication of results.

There are speeches and comments about the quality of school education, disparity in results and the need for improvement. The debate on school education reform has not been able to rise above this . It can't even be called a debate, it's just rhetoric, reactions and comments . The capacity and courage to listen to the debate and intervene at the policy level should also be present in the relevant agencies and officials. 

There was a little more commotion about this year's SEE results, because in the country's parliament, the Prime Minister gave a list of his personal efforts to improve the results. He specifically discussed the use of the online digital portal as a 'magic wand' for one and a half lakh students through hundreds of young teachers and also claimed 'Jas' for the improvement in the results. But here the question arises - is the responsibility or role of improving the results of teachers, principals and schools or of the Prime Minister? The Prime Minister will play a leading role for procedural and institutional reforms. What irony is it that everyone should accept the incredible and surprising increase in SEE results in one year without paying attention to the procedural and institutional reform measures to improve the results? 

Can SEE results alone confirm the case for education reform? In this regard, without considering the trend and condition of education in Nepal, the comparative experience of national and international research, this mysterious growth has also raised the suspicion that the pace of education will not go in the opposite direction.

Recently, there is a debate about how Nepal's long-awaited education bill will be and the direction and condition of education has become a matter of interest to the common people and stakeholders. However, this bill is more focused on the services and facilities of teachers . Hopefully, there will be some improvement in the teacher's behavior and professionalism. 

Right now, the interest groups of the top leadership of the party have taken a firm grip on the entire professional business including education . They have not left behind to make any effort to make education a pot of earning under various pretexts . The fault lies with the leader who is influenced rather than the one who influences. Especially the role of the parties in the government is a matter of interest for everyone. Will education laws and policies be made to promote the welfare of deprived, poor, discriminated and backward communities? Interest has increased if the Education Act is successful in strengthening and maintaining the quality of public education. It is not possible to tell what the future of education will be by focusing on the efforts made by the Prime Minister to improve overall education by trying to mislead the people on the results of SEE. 

unexpected result growth rate 

Looking at this year's SEE results, students and parents have certainly added excitement. Now it is important how to connect that enthusiasm with the results of SEE in the future and how to connect education and learning with intellectual skills and life skills and how to make them optimistic . Last year's 47.87 percent pass rate (graded) has gone up to 61.81 this year . From the Prime Minister to the National Examination Board, education experts, the media and the general public, everyone has their own viewpoints and interpretations on how this happened. In fact, it can be properly analyzed only through research and study. Is this miracle made possible by the use of some digital portals as the Prime Minister said? Or, as the National Examination Board said, after the right of education went to the local government, it was made possible by the enthusiastic role of the local government and parents. In such a situation, if all the responsible government organizations play their own tricks, there is a possibility that the reality will be overshadowed . There is a suspicion that this tendency leads to drawing a controversial picture about the future of education. 

Academic researchers and analysts have expressed doubts about this sudden improvement. In this process, educationist Professor Meen Bahadur Bista has warned that 'this may have the effect of systemic tolerance or an unknown cause . According to him, 'SEE results in the circle of various claims are not just some data, but there is a possibility of becoming a controversial narrative about accountability, equality and the educational future of Nepal.' Nepal's SEE results are seen as an exception in such a global background. While most of the countries are still struggling to get back to the old level, it is necessary to study and analyze to understand the sudden improvement in Nepal . How did SEE results improve overnight like talisman magic? In this regard, due to different opinions coming from different levels of the government, its credibility has also been questioned.

What does national and international experience say?

According to the changing conditions of education, different concepts and approaches have been seen in quality standards in education. In the beginning, the learning achievement of the students was measured in marks, which was often limited to the cognitive level, and now the importance is given to the factors influencing the overall school environment, which emphasizes the holistic development of children . Facts from around the world show that qualitative improvement in education does not happen overnight. Such progress is only possible through long-term reform, curriculum transformation, teacher training, resource mobilization, effective teaching methods and planning, which are considered to be part of the overall school environment . Sudden improvement can often be the result of assessment procedures, test conditions, or other temporary interventions. Such improvement is not long term .

An important report on education published in 1999 based on a study in India, 'Probe', broadly classified the factors that influence the academic achievement of students as family and school related. Family background, such as household conditions and parental education, are important factors influencing student academic achievement. Important factors of schools include infrastructural facilities, quality of teachers (training, experience etc.) and teaching-learning process . Good results will not last long unless these elements are balanced. Similarly, a national study conducted in Nepal under the leadership of Kedarbhakta Mathema showed that one of the reasons for the poor performance of students in SLC is structural problems. The report said that without structural reforms in education, if results appear to improve, they are likely to be temporary or superficial.

challenging online learning 

This year, there has been an attempt by the Prime Minister to prove the worthlessness of his subordinate institutions. Through institutional and procedural reforms, he has bent himself towards improving the result of SEE by deceiving the Ministry of Education, National Examination Board, Human Resource Development Center, local government etc. He claims to have improved the results of online classes using hundreds of youths and a private company. Various researches in Nepal have pointed out that there is a problem of digital literacy and lack of digital content and internet facilities. At such a time, the claim of achieving success by providing such a service to one and a half million students in a short period of time can really be a subject of research and study . Yes, post-Covid-19, the use of online education has become widespread and students are one step ahead of teachers in using online. The role of online education is acceptable in the current context. However, many studies have shown that in public schools where socially and economically disadvantaged children have access to such technology, they are excluded from the use of online education . On the other hand, such children are also deprived of access to the Internet. In such a situation, it is natural that the effectiveness of online classes remains challenging. The possibility of such children taking advantage of the online advantage is very low .

Our examination system  Our examination system based on

tradition has not been fault-free . Despite the change in the school and curriculum structure, the way of taking the exam remains the same . The internal processes of the examination system such as question making, examination, marking, examination monitoring, answer book evaluation etc. can have a profound effect on the results . The results can be artificially inflated due to lax examination monitoring, irregular assessment and lack of objective criteria. Unless there is transparency and accountability in the examination governance system, the reliability of the results cannot be ensured . Due to this weakness of our examination system, it is known that the result is below . Therefore, along with the learning system, the need for improvement in our assessment system is inevitable.

Inconsistency in results

The overall presentation of SEE results tends to create some confusion . Because our schools, provinces and teachers are not in the same situation . In such a situation, it is natural that the results of SEE will be different or unequal . In such a situation, the responsibility of the government should be how to reduce this inequality. 

Even though it is not possible from the level of our Prime Minister, it would be helpful to know the disparity of SEE results if the relevant department or agency presents the results according to the type of school, province and economic condition. However, Kantipur Daily's editorial presented the regional disparity in the results of SEE, according to which, "while the nationwide results of SEE have improved by 14 percent, the results of Madhesh Province have decreased by 19 percent compared to last year."

Last year in Madhesh, 47 percent of children were graded in SEE, while this year only 28 percent of children were graded. Likewise, it can be easily assumed that the SEE results of public schools will be weaker than private ones due to the poor condition of the educational, managerial and school.

conclusion 

The unexpected result improvement of SEE 2081 has added to the excitement, but it has raised serious questions about the credibility of the education system. Online initiatives by the Prime Minister and promotion of hard work have overshadowed the role of government institutions . Even from the point of view of international evidence, such an increase in SEE results is considered artificial. In reality, sustainable improvement is possible only through structural and procedural changes. Access to online education in the education system, improvement in the evaluation system, transparency and without solving the disparity between schools, such improvement seems to be only superficial and temporary . For education reform, a long-term strategy based on institutional reform, accountability and equality is needed rather than external achievements.  In order to sustainably improve the