Additional Information on Education in Terai; A reality and the Need

[Dhurba Shrestha]

Dear Prakashji

It was a great pleasure to hear from you.

Thank you for your comments.

This is not my response to your email but added information on what I
wrote earlier.

I see three major problems in Terai which need immediate response.

Public schools are being paralyzed. We need to strengthen the public
schools. We need to regain the lost faith of parents that public
schools also provide quality education. This can be done in number of
ways. The establishment of this e-group is also a tool to help public
schools gain their strength through sharing of ideas and making a
common understanding for effectiveness of our work. As you have said
sharing the best practices can be one tool to promote the schools that
are doing good. Teachers training and community mobilization can be
other tools to capacitate them. Similarly, strengthening DEO can give
the multiplier effect in education.

In Terai, the conflict is common. Schools open only 93 days and
teacher absenteeism is another major problem. 90% of the children in
Nepal study in public schools. If the school is not providing quality
education, large number of students is going to be affected from it.
Improving quality of education in public schools is likely to reduce
the high drop out and increase the cycle completion rate (primary,
secondary level).

Promote private schools: Government alone is not able to provide
education to all. It has been a proven fact that public private
partnership is must to increase the adequate resources in education.
So private boarding schools should be promoted but they must ensure
that the school is in reach of poor people too. This will reduce the
economic and managerial burden of the state in education.

Education must be the first priority of each individual, parent, local
bodies and the state: Neither individual nor the state has given
education a first priority. If parents had given priority to education
they would not have sent their children abroad to earn and if the
student had given the priority they would have joined colleges. The
advertisement of lost passport proves that large numbers of student
prepare to go abroad instead of joining college. The local bodies also
do not put education a priority. One of my surveys of district
development committee, Kaski in the year 2007 showed that the total
budget of DDC was 30 million and the budget allocated for education
was only 1.5 million (5%). About 60% of the total budget was on road
and bridge construction.

My concern is that if public schools fail to educate children,
boarding schools are collapsed and parents, local bodies and state do
not prioritize education in first position, what the future going to
be in next 10-15 years???

Thank you.

Best Regards;

Dhurba Shrestha