On 24th November 2017, numerous schools and colleges of Kathmandu valley were closed due to a fake rumour of the strike. There was a rumour for many days that a political party was going to conduct a strike on 24th November 2017. On 23rd November, many schools and colleges published notices that they decided to give a holiday on 24th November. But aghast, everything was normal on 24th November. There was no hindrance observed in the vehicular movement inside the valley. Due to that simple fake rumour, thousands of students inside the valley became deprived of the education that day. And this is not a new incident. Such type of activities is common in our country.
On 12th Baisakh, a massive earthquake turned thousands of schools into dust. Millions of children of Nepal became deprived of education. On 21st June 2015 4 students from different parts of Nepal committed suicide after failing the SLC(School Leaving Certificate).
This is all about the pathetic education system of Nepal. How can Nepal progress if the trend goes on like this? How can Nepal parade in the path of development if the society and the attitudes of the people are contaminated?
There is no good educational system in Nepal. The government is not concerned about that, neither are the common people. The system is like a rotten egg, useless. Acquiring education here, in Nepal means memorizing everything taught by the teachers and always gaining the first position in the class. Here, in Nepal, students are made to focus on parrot learning, something also called ad rote learning. Practical education is just limited in speeches, essay competitions and in the pages of bulky books.
A student cannot study the subject of his/her choice. His life is determined by others that might be his parents or other relatives or other members of society. His freedom is captivated inside the four walls of a room. In Nepal, commonly, children start to go to school from 4-5 years of age or even younger than that. He/she is made to memorize everything taught in school.
The parrot learning is so deeply rooted in our education system that can be illustrated by this simple example: If someone tells that “B” stands for Bag or Banana or others except Ball to a child studying in a nursery class, the child begins to argue with that person saying that “B” stands for Ball only not for Bag or Banana or others. This is because he/she was taught like that in school. And this is not the fault of the teachers if we analyze profoundly. The fault is of the system that has been living since time-e-memorial.
A child who is innocent, who has just become familiar with the alphabets is made to carry a bag containing more than five bulky books and copies weighing more than 5 kg and to go to boring school. He/she is not a student but a porter who has to carry a bag that’s too heavy to carry and walk.
A student’s capacity is judged from the three-hour examination. My question here is, “How can a student show what he/she has learned within a year in 2-3 sheets of paper in the limited time of 3 hours under high pressure? The condition of the country is like this. And the so-called country-lovers put their hand on their forehead and shout “Why is the country not developing?
The education system of Nepal is to be reformed. The conventional education system should be demolished and a new education system must be adapted. Students must not be forced. Their freedom of choice should be guaranteed. The children must not be captivated like a bird in the cage. They must be taken out from the 4 walls of the class and exposed to the external environment. Education must not be only limited to books. It must be practically applied in fields.
The meaning of education is not just to memorize the mathematical formulae or to memorize the theories and know the way to prove them. We should have knowledge of contemporary society, too.
Children must be blessed with vocational education. Then only the country can develop.
“A child cannot do anything if he knows (a+b)^2=a^2+2ab+b^2, but if he knows the society very well, he can do a lot.”
Written by: Shisir Aryal