Darker sides of SLC

PURAN PD BISTAMy cousin, Bharat Bista, the head of Patharya High School in Jhapa for a decade and now in his retirement, said to me “School Leaving Certificate (SLC) examination is of no use, especially in the Tarai belt.” I sought for some explanation as I wondered what he meant by the phrase “no use.” He also says that private schools bribe superintendents and invigilators of each exam center to allow the examinees to mass copying: Even a student who can hardly read and write fetches above 70 percent in the SLC exams.

He further elaborated that the practice of bribing superintendents and invigilators seeped into Jhapa from Sarlahi and Saptari districts. Now even government schools have followed the suit to produce “better SLC results.” I still wonder how such evil seeped into Nepal. But keeping in mind the series of events that are unfolding during the ongoing SLC exams, it is easier for me to trust his words. 

Each day, some students are being reportedly expelled from their exam centers. One fake student was a daughter of Kiran Devi Yadav, Constituent Assembly member from UML. The daughter sat for the exam on her mother’s behalf. The incident has been hushed up but some teachers found helping students cheat have been booked for their misdemeanors.

But the means by which the government officials responsible for holding free and fair exams are being bribed has not come to light yet, particularly from the Tarai centers.

Back in the capital, the trend is that private schools bribe government officials for a lesser strict center so that their students can copy from their peers. Besides, oral exams (viva voce), called speaking tests, also matters, as out of 20 in English subject, many of the students obtain full 20 marks, provided the speaking-test examiners present during the test are bribed beforehand. As a result, some private schools in the capital, which are proud of obtaining cent percent distinction, do employ such unfair practices, in addition to bribing the education officials for manipulating marks before the SLC results.

Given Nepal’s SLC students’ strength, over half a million students have appeared in the SLC exams this time. Of them, over 64 percent will pass the exam; that is, roughly above 300,000 students, as the pass percentage of the past four years shows. Most of them will be wanting to study in the capital’s anglicized junior colleges as these so-called English colleges have no-cut off percentage for admission but pursue a policy- “how much money annually a student can pay in the form of tuition fees, admission fees and other weird charges.” At the end of the academic session, a student ends up paying more than Rs 70,000. And these colleges churn out products nothing better than doing clerical jobs. So quality, creativity and honesty do not count. What counts is money and the numbers of students the colleges manage to take in .

Private and Boarding School Organization Nepal (PABSON) advocates that they are better organized to manage and cater quality education to students; but the term “quality” has posed a question as some private schools themselves are used to practicing such unfair means for obviously short-term gains. And most of those who run private schools and junior colleges are either government school teachers or those who took years to get degrees or those who are still pursuing studies. While we may forget such improprieties by calling them minor incidents, they are extremely disturbing developments.

Teaching is one of the most idealized professions in the world. We have seen movies where a teacher transforms a rowdy and self-absorbed bunch of kids into well-behaved and self-actualized creatures. Some of them are based on true stories. 

In our scriptures, too, teachers are considered second parents who impart moral values and ethics that help students stand, walk, talk and help those who are in need. But are educators, these days, really imparting proper lessons? If so, why do they help students cheat in the examinations?

Like doctors, lawyers, and journalists, educators are subject to a set of ethical dos and don’ts on contentious issues like that of private tuitions and corporal punishment. New teachers abide by laws, and schools introduce moral lessons to distinguish good from bad. Teachers are the first figures of public authority, and it makes sense not to let that authority be unfettered. Their every action makes strong impressions, and their behavior is a powerful determinant of a child’s cast of mind. They can’t afford to appear arbitrary or self-interested. So, shouldn’t educators be made accountable?

If Nepal’s population is not trained to face the globalized world, such private schools which practice such unfair means for better SLC results, can never be trailblazers. Primary and secondary education is the first step in that training. A student who is encouraged to use unfair practices cannot be honest, nor can s/he ever demonstrate creativity or ingenuity. Later, in the academic career, s/he tends to practice what has been encouraged during his/her early academic years, and this will be a hindrance to competitive spirit.

A change for better can never be achieved so long as ethics remains an unanswered question. Fundamentally, a school or college is a social institution; it should be run by a social organization for the benefits of the society and not for investors who charge exorbitant fees and mock the education system. The government officials and politicians who have flouted the basic codes to devalue education are the darker sides of our education system.

source:republica

Classroom discipline

GOPAL SIJAPTI MAGAR

Factors to be considered The question of the relationship between discipline and learning is a crucial one, because discipline is acknowledged as a prerequisite to smooth and meaningful learning. Discipline is, thus, an inseparable part of a classroom that facilitates the teachers to establish an optimal learning environment.


Discipline in classroom is an inevitable virtue, as many researches have highlighted that nothing can be learned in a chaotic atmosphere. Though the term `classroom discipline' is not easy to define in words, it often refers to such an integral state of a classroom in which both teachers and students are likely to accept and consistently observe a set of rules that usually far outweigh the potential barriers of both organizational problems and disruptive circumstances. And, the question of the relationship between discipline and learning is a crucial one, because discipline is acknowledged as a prerequisite to smooth and meaningful learning. Discipline is, thus, an inseparable part of a classroom that facilitates the teachers to establish an optimal learning environment where the objectives of teaching-learning activities are easily achieved.

However, many teachers in Nepal often make the mistake of starting their classes with a poor discipline plan. Why they underestimate the idea of maintaining good discipline in their classroom is difficult to understand. A primary reason for poor environment in our nation's classrooms is, perhaps, that teachers themselves have not been exposed to adequate knowledge about the factors that contribute to classroom discipline. What is more, many teachers here in Nepal do not seem to possess strong faith in their profession. As a result, they fail to understand that a well-disciplined classroom always stimulates the students to act in the way they want.

No doubt, the notion of maintaining discipline in classrooms is one of the most arduous tasks for every teacher. The fact behind it is that the strategies a teacher employs vary individually. However, there are some unavoidable factors that should be considered for better and effective learning. For instance, classroom management is a contributing factor that often involves how the teachers try to teach their students effectively. It reflects how relaxed the classroom environment is; how the students in their classrooms are placed; how well the teacher has led the classroom procedures and stuck to them. Therefore, it is advisable that every efficient teacher should not only learn the skills of classroom management, but also practice them daily. Similarly, the instructive role of a teacher always make the classroom more disciplined. As an authority, the responsibility for the control of any classroom has to be in the hands of the teachers. This, however, doesn't necessarily mean that they should always be motivated by a sense of au thoritarianism. The amount of control that teachers exercises should be increased since once we set a precedent of following a lot of disruptions, it can be very hard to start with better classroom management and discipline techniques.

Many students, by nature, make noises in their class rooms. Though it is the most common phenomenon which usually echoes within the four walls of the classrooms, it should not be taken as an offence. Instead, we need to think why almost all teachers are compelled to confront such unwanted and disruptive behaviors. It is, perhaps, the result of the failure schemata of teaching procedures and the lack of mutual cooperation between students and teacher or among the students.

Most importantly, it should, therefore, be noted that cooperation between students and teacher is not always democratic, but it might be the result of "coercion" or "fear". However, no teacher can afford to overlook the importance of establishing a rapport with their students. Hence, the proper implementation of all the qualities of a good teacher like courtesy, punctuality, enthusiasm, patience, and the like ameliorates classroom discipline.

The idea of presenting a lesson with a good plan helps the teachers to epitomize the degree of discipline in the classroom, as many educators argue that lesson planning always leads the teacher being on the right track that she/he needs to go in. So, a lesson which goes according to a plan is more likely to be disciplined. But, many teachers across the nation are today found to be not motivated while teaching. In this respect, there are some teachers who claim the futility of using a lesson plan while teaching, arguing that it is too time-consuming.

Therefore, for effective and objective learning the practice of using the lesson plans in classroom teaching should always be encouraged. The focusing technique suggests that every teacher should have the attention of their students before they begin taking the lesson in question. The key to this technique is to circulate around the class, while students are working. An efficient teacher always makes a pass through the whole classroom checking whether each student has started his/her work or not.

No teacher should attempt to teach over the chatter of students suggesting that they are not paying attention. Teachers should maintain classroom discipline considering all possible factors and strategies-including appropriate teaching and learning materials--in order to stimulate their student's inherent capacity and thirst for learning.

gopal.sijapatimagar @gmail.com

EMAIL
gopal.sijapatimagar@gmail.com

source: The himalayan Times, 28 March 2011

Fulbright’s legacy is fostering people-to-people understanding

The Commission for Educational Exchange between the United States and Nepal, better known as the United States Educational Foundation (USEF-Nepal) or The Fulbright Commission, is celebrating 50 years of its establishment. Since its inception on June 9, 1961, USEF-Nepal has granted the prestigious Fulbright scholarship to 650 Nepalis, in addition to administering other grants and scholarships through the US Department of State. Danielle Preiss and Biswas Baral caught up with USEF-Nepal Executive Director Laurie Ann Vasily to discuss the Commission’s achievements and the history of the Fulbright student exchange programme.  

Could you give us a brief overview of USEF-Nepal since its establishment in 1961?

It was established by a binational treaty between the governments of the US and Nepal. It is governed by a board of directors. Five of them are appointed by the Nepali government and five by the US Embassy in Kathmandu. It operates as a binational organisation to promote educational exchange. We cater to both the US citizens coming to Nepal under the auspices of the Fulbright Program and the Nepali citizens going to the US either independently or by using the services of USEF-Nepal or various scholarship programmes administered through this commission. Most of our programmes are funded by the US Department of State. But as I said, it is a binational commission. The board of directors make all the decisions about where the grants go and other decisions about how the commission runs.

What were the initial goals behind the establishment of the Fulbright Commission in Nepal and how have they evolved over the years?

The Fulbright Program had been operating in Nepal even before 1961. Two Nepali men—Ram Chandra Malhotra and Yog Prasad Upadhyay—went to the US in 1952 as the first two Fulbright grantees from Nepal. The Fulbright Program has always had the same goals which were set forth in the original legislation drafted by then senator from Arkansas, James William Fulbright, who saw international educational exchanges as an important means to promote peace and understanding among peoples of different countries. The Fulbright Program operates in 155 countries worldwide. This involves academic exchanges with Nepali students going and pursuing degrees in US colleges and Americans coming to Nepal to pursue various degrees, teach or do post-doctoral research here.

How would you assess the impact of the Fulbright Program in Nepal?

The impact is in some ways immeasurable because part of the beauty of this programme is that it’s a grant for an individual and that individual can take the opportunity and make of it what he or she wants. Especially for the Nepalis who go to the US—they come back to their own fields and many of them become leaders in their fields. There is an expectation of the Fulbright grantees that those who benefit from that opportunity come back and contribute significantly to Nepal; and many have. Many of them have reached the levels of secretaries, chief secretaries, leaders in the private sector and in the public sector. So the impact goes beyond a single individual. In this case we are talking about 650 individuals who have reached a level of success in their fields and in their own communities. One of the challenges we are now facing is bringing Fulbright opportunities to a different range of people. Those folks who are extremely qualified, they might live outside the Valley. Part of our challenge now is reaching outside the Valley to identify those people and make Fulbright, Humphrey and other grant opportunities available to them.

Still, the Fulbright is a very prestigious programme and there are a fairly small number of people involved in the exchange. Do you worry that the programme fosters elitism?

No. Part of the challenge for a programme like this is that the system of educational opportunities for Nepali citizens has long benefitted a narrow number of groups in Nepal. Some of those opportunities are now becoming more available as the educational system improves. For instance the number of primary schools has significantly gone up since the Fulbright Program started. Public education in Nepal has become an entirely different thing. So the kind of questions we can now have for qualifying for a Fulbright are quite different from the ones we had 20 or 30 years ago. We are always looking to send Fulbrighters who represent Nepal in all its diversity. We are not seeking to contribute to elitism. We are seeking to provide opportunities to all qualified Nepalis so that people in the US can also better understand the diversity of Nepal. And that Nepalis can, through those opportunities, contribute in different fields. 

The common perception is that it is very tough to get a Fulbright scholarship. Many people don’t apply for that reason. Would you encourage more people to apply?

It is hard to get a Fulbright. And it will always be hard. I don’t mean to discourage anyone in saying that. What I am saying is that there is a certain profile of the candidate we are looking for. One of the very important things in the application progress is the essays. The essays are the expression of the individuality of the candidate. That essay is where he or she presents who he or she is or what he or she wants to do with the potential opportunity. So in an applicant, we are looking for someone who has taken leadership in his or her field—that could be anything from vulture conservation to agricultural development to contribution in a wide range of other fields—and has a vision for themselves and whatever it is that they are trying to move forward in. We are looking for people who have a sense of how to use the Fulbright opportunity to do something more when they come back to their field in Nepal.  

Besides administering the various scholarship and grant programmes, what other activities is USEF-Nepal engaged in?

USEF has served tens of thousands of Nepalis by providing them with accurate, unbiased and relevant information about studies in the US. That is significant and far-reaching. Students who are interested in studying at any level in the US can come and learn about application procedures, how to write good application essays; we host college representatives who talk to students directly about how to gain admissions; we provide information on scholarship opportunities and information about the required tests.

Since the start of the Fulbright Program, do you think there has been an increased awareness of Nepali socio-cultural issues in the US?

Absolutely.  And it is happening not just on the East or West Coast. If you talk to Yog Prasad Upadhyay who went to the US in 1952, the number of Nepalis in the US at the time was so minimal. There are a number of different ways in which the Fulbright Program and a number of other US-funded programmes (for example, the Peace Corps programme) contribute at that level. Going back to Senator Fulbright’s vision of people-to-people diplomacy, the American Fulbrighters live in Kansas, they live in Idaho, they live in San Francisco and different places. When they return from Nepal, they talk about the realities of life in Nepal, the diversity and multiculturalism of the country. That people-to-people understanding is being developed, which the Commission, through its many different programmes, continues to support.  

Do you rate that as the programme’s biggest legacy over the last 50 years?

Yes. That it has lived in people’s hearts. And people have come to understand each other at an individual level, at a societal level, at a global level through this programme. Government-to-government relationships are important. But people-to-people relationships are important as well and those continue to be fostered. There are Fulbrighters in the US and Nepal who talk of those cross-cultural experiences as life-changing. They came to know something different about the world because of those experiences. Their minds were opened. Their hearts were opened. Those are the important legacies of this programme, along with all of the contributions the individuals have made in their given fields.

source; The Kathmandu Post

<Photo 1>

Crippled curriculum

After being obliged to study the standard content-heavy curriculum that the Nepali education system offers, students ultimately have an opportunity to make their choices after SLC. But then come the overwhelming challenges of what follow next. With limited options, both in terms of studies and vocation, the Nepali school education system is undoubtedly not helping the youth of the country to prepare for their future careers. 

 “We first have to change the school education structure to address the issue of youth career development,” says BN Sharma, academic advisor of Private and Boarding School’s Organization, Nepal (PABSON) Central Committee and central advisor of UNESCO Federation of Nepal.

 The process of producing skilled human resource starts from the school level itself. Nepal is the last country left in South Asia which considers the 10th standard as the School Leaving Certificate (SLC) when it should have been the 12th standard. According to Sharma, Nepal’s education system, which still follows the traditional curriculum and is rigid, is contributing to the poor performance of students, and he thinks that the huge gap between the curriculum of SLC and +2 is further aggravating the problem.

According to the Global Education System, an international standard for 12 years of schooling and four to six years of university education, career-based curriculum should be started from the 9th standard, and students should be able to study technical, vocational and mechanical subjects as optional subjects. Sharma explains that if the system of incorporating skill-based curriculum starts from the 9th grade and continues till the 12th, in four years, students will be trained in their respected fields and will be skilled enough to get jobs.

According to Nepal Government’s School Sector Reform Plan (SSRP), the government is planning to make the 12th standard as the SLC threshold.

However, Bidya Nath Koirala, coordinator of M Phil in Education at Tribhuvan University, believes that the first thing to improve our education system is by improving the way we teach. He said that the country needs motivated and self-regulative teachers and students who are willing to learn and make a change.

“This is one of the most important reforms needed in the education system of Nepal,” Koirala says. “I don’t believe in the curriculum because it’s always getting old. What we need are teachers who can update the curriculum and the way they teach.”

But a 2010 report by UNESCO titled “Learning: The Treasure Within” defines the foundation for better education as based on four pillars — learning to know; learning to do; learning to live together; and learning to be.

Experts like Sharma, who have been in this field for a substantial time, see the fourth pillar—learning to live together—missing. But apart from the new principles floated by various organizations, the country’s ability to adapt to the changes also seems to have hindered the progress.

According to Hom Kumar Thapa, central president of Nepal Institutional Schools Teachers Union (ISTU), Nepal’s education system is still based on the Education Act of 2028 BS (1970/71). The curriculum, which was prepared in and for the then Panchayat era, is still in practice.

“We’ve gone through a lot of political changes over the years, but our education policies haven’t been developed according to the changes, and some of the courses aren’t even relevant now,” he said.

With the mushrooming of private-sector schools, though they follow the government’s curriculum, these institutions have also incorporated their own modules of learning so that students are exposed to new ideas in changing environments.

Sharma explains how the private sector may have a problem since this new curriculum on technical and vocational education requires huge investment. So he says that the government has to partner with the private sector for another 30 years from the present state of economics of the country.

“There should be a PPP (Private Public Partnership) where the formula is that the government invests in physical infrastructure and the private sector manages the curriculum,” he explains.

But apart from the curriculum, teaching practices also need to be upgraded, experts say.

Thapa notes that our education system emphasizes on rote learning, and students are judged on the basis of the three-hour examination which isn’t even credible.

“Education should be made professional, and we should therefore develop a grading system since students should study with the aim of not only scoring big numbers but to upgrade their education status,” says Thapa.

He also adds that the country’s educational system doesn’t have textbooks relevant to the syllabus that helps in producing the kind of human resource that the country is in dire need of. Moreover, students have less room for creativity with fragmented academic information.

The country doesn’t even have the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) which is required to develop and provide employment for the skilled human resource.

“NQF doesn’t exist in the country which is why we’re failing to produce educated, critical and skilled manpower,” explains Mana Prasad Wagle, Dean, School of Education, Kathmandu University.

Under NQF, there are two types of education: One is formal education which includes school and college education, and other being vocational education.

Therefore, Wagle explains that in order to help the youth to build up their careers and provide them better employment opportunities, the Ministry of Education should first build up NQF.

“There should be an open-door policy where students should have the choice to have both vocational and formal education. Unless an NQF is framed, we aren’t even in a position to talk about career development in the country,” he says.

There are many subjects that need to be offered that are connected with the basic needs of the country. Wagle further explains that the government must first plan for technical, vocational and mechanical studies initially in order to upgrade our education system and to better prepare students for skilled jobs. Only then a green revolution and an industrial revolution can be possible in Nepal.

Sharma puts it about the current state of affairs: That the country is offering more white-color jobs and that we’re producing graduates but with no skills.

“Just getting a degree is of no use, and the idea that students should get jobs only after graduation is outdated,” he says.

 source:republica,NISTHA RAYAMAJHI, 26 March

SLC

Out of total 496, 243 students taking exams this year, 436, 411 students are regular and 59,832 exempted. Of the total students, 255,596 are boys and 240,647 girls.A total of 8,140 students from 89 open schools are taking the SLC exam this year. Of them, three are foreign students.Last year, a total of 3, 85, 146 students had appeared in the examination. The number of the examinees increased by 111, 097 this year.

Oz beckons : Study Abroad Australia

Getting a higher education Down Under
Apopular destination for Nepali stu dents is Aus tralia and the Australian education system has a strong international reputation. "Professionals willing to pursue higher education will experience a unique kind of education promoting a learning style that encourages innovative, creative and independent thinking in Australia," claims Nawaraj Pradhan, coordinator of South Asia Scholarship Programme Nepal.

Despite being one of the popular educational destinations, students must know and consider some of the things before opting to study in Australia.

Courses in Australia
The universities in Australia offer diverse study programmes. Ac cording to Pradhan, there are a number of universities which specialise in different subjects. "Nepali scholars have a long history of agriculture science knowledge exchanges and experiences from Australian universities. There are other areas of study that Nepalis have benefited from such as Education, Health, Policy Studies, Human Rights, Climate Change, Water Resource Management, Governance, IT and Law," revealed Pradhan.

Qualifications required Students wanting to study in Australia must possess certain qualifications. Regarding the qualifications required Pradhan informed, "International students pursuing Undergraduate courses should have a valid secondary school certificate (12 pass) to be eligible to be enrolled for Undergraduate programmes in Australia."

For those wanting to pursue higher education in Master's and Doctoral studies, he suggested, "Students must meet university requirements and an English Language Testing Requirement (IELTS) to get entry into Australian universities. Students must have completed a course at least equivalent to an Australian Bachelor degree to get entry into Masters level studies."
He added, "Most univer sities in Australia require an IELTS or other English Language Requirement as a pre-requisite for entry into study programmes.
University policies and procedures vary with such requirements."
Income as bonus not a necessity "I am planning to work and pay my college fees rather than depending upon my parents here," shared Deepak Lamsal from Lokahnthali, Bhakta pur who is planning to pur sue his Master's in Social Work in Australia.Like Lamsal, the majori ty of Nepali students work to earn money while study ing in Australia. Interna tional students are permit ted to work up to 20 hours a week during study peri ods.

But Pradhan suggested, "It is not advised to rely on wages from part-time work for living or pay for tuition fees. It can be very difficult to find part-time work and even more difficult to find well-paid part-time work. Students should treat any income they earn while in Australia as a bonus, not a necessity."

 Scholarships
The government of Aus tralia provides scholar ships to Nepali students through South Asia Scholarships Programmes. Australian Development Scholarship (ADS) and Australian Leadership Award Scholarships (ALAS) are two such programmes available for Master's and Doctorate levels.ADS in Nepal are available in two categories -Public sector category (for government employees) and open category (for Masters and PhD level of study in bilaterally agreed priority sectors).The ALAS is an open scheme where candi dates from govern ment as well as private sector are eligible to apply; ALAS are available for Master's and Doctoral (PhD) stud ies.
"These scholar ships aim to develop leadership, build partnerships and linkages within the AsiaPacific, and address priority regional issues," said Pradhan.

Besides these scholarships, the Australian universities too offer scholarships in different programmes.
"International students have to find scholarships being offered in various universities and apply for it. Apart from AusAID funded scholarships, students can apply directly with universities in Australia," Pradhan informed. Choose good university hoose a good University and C study programme in Australia.

Nepali students tend to choose lower grade universities with primary focus on getting a permanent residency (PR) after their studies and to avoid the high fee charged by good ranking universities. Getting a PR this way is a myth, and a large number of students are facing difficulties after going to Australia because of misinterpretations by various parties and students themselves.

Some useful websites
To know about university ranking
http://www.ausaid.gov.au/scholar/ala_institutions.cfm

For Australian Awards Scholarships
http://www.southasiascholarship.org or
http://www.ausaid.gov.au/scholar/

Australian Embassy Nepal
http://nepal.embassy.gov.au/kmdu/home.html

Search University and study programs:
http://studyinaustralia.gov.au/Sia/en/Home.htm

Visa and immigration details
http://www.immi.gov.au/

VFS Australia Visa Application Center, Nepal
http://www.vfs-au-in.com/

Course fees ·
A Master's programme can average from $30,000-$50,000 (Aus) · A Bachelor's degree, depending upon the nature of field of study, can cost anywhere from $10,000-$15,000 (annual fee) Cost of living Cost of living in Australia will vary upon various cities, suburbs and standard of living students choose to lead. But on an average $2,000 per month for one person should be comfortable for any city suburb and a decent lifestyle.



source:Sharada Adhikari, The Himalayan Times, 23 March 2011

Childcare centers bridging gender gap at schools

 Until a few years ago, the gender gap as shown by the Net Enrollment Rate (NER) of Meshram Barah Secondary School in Ghandruk village, a popular trekking destination in Kaski district, was distressingly high.

Among every 100 students, almost 70 were boys. Girls constituted only 30 per cent of the total number of students.

Today, gender gap does not exist in Ghandruk schools. According to Krishna Prasad Poudyal, the principal of Meshram Barah, 49 per cent of students in the school are girls. "The gap between boy and girl students has been bridged here," Poudyal says. "Boy and girl students come in equal number these days."

The awe-inspiring success in bridging the gender gap in Ghandruk is not due to government´s interventions. Instead, it was an outcome of a simple approach adopted by local mother´s groups to free themselves and their daughters from the burden of looking after their younger siblings. "It is the main reason behind the success," says Poudyal, “Of course, there are other reasons as well."

In 1990, four years after the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) was launched in Ghandruk, the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC), known as King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation back then, encouraged local women to actively participate in conserving Annapurna region´s rich biodiversity and endangered wildlife. However, despite their whole-hearted interest in nature conservation, local women failed to manage their time for it.

"The main hurdle for local mothers to actively participate in nature conservation was their kids," says Jagan Subba Gurung, a staffer of the ACAP project. “So, we decided to set up a daycare center (DCC) to help the mothers get rid of the dull duty of babysitting."

Not only did the construction of the DCC enable mothers devote more time and energy to nature conservation but also provided their daughters with opportunities to attend schools. "Back then, the older girls, along with their mothers, would have to look after the younger children," Gurung said. "Therefore, most of them could not go to schools."

Currently, a total of 50 children, below the age of six, are learning Nepali and English alphabets at the DCC with the help of various songs. Children as young as two year olds come to the DCC. "Girl students drop their younger siblings at the DCC on their way to school," he says.

"Once the DCC began taking care of little babies, girl students, who took the responsibility earlier, were free to go to school," Gurung says.

Teachers at the DCC teach the babies in a creative way and give them nutritious food after an hour of nap every day. Mothers provide the DCC with handful of rice, wheat flour, lentils and sugars for their babies. "As they are learning in a creative way and eating nutritious food, they will perform very well later in schools," Gurung said.

The concept of DCC, later adopted by the Ministry of Education as Early Childhood Development (ECD) Centers, has been replicated in places apart from Ghandruk.

According to Bidur Pokharel, who works at the NTNC, seven day care centers have been established in various parts of the ACAP. "These centers have enabled girls to go to schools throughout the ACAP region," he says.

source:republica, 23 march 2011

Library Limitations

Whenever the denizens of Kathmandu have to go to a library to read or research, there is really nowhere to go except the Kaiser Library, Kaiser Mahal, Tribhuban University Central Library, Kirtipur, and libraries of embassies.

It appears there aren’t enough full-fledged public libraries that cater to the needs of the readers and moreover there is a lack of reading culture.

“At this age of information, everyone needs information, whether they are students or people from any other fields and for that purpose we need to visit libraries,” says Krishna Mani Bhandari, librarian at Tribhuwan University Central Library.

"We have academic libraries here but we don’t have libraries for the common people,” he says. “The leaders and bureaucrats in Nepal have not yet realized that we need libraries to produce civilized and educated citizens,” Bhandari says adding, “I think that’s the reason we don’t have enough public libraries in Nepal. Plus the few academic libraries we do have aren’t well-equipped.”

Our students are only limited to their school’s or college’s library, which in most cases do not have enough books and resources.

And when it comes to the general public, they really don’t know where to go. “I’ve been working in the field of library for 30 years and there has been a change in the reading culture,” says Jujubhai Dangol, library manager of Kathmandu Valley Public Library, “People have realized the importance of libraries and the demand for information is growing,” he says.

The existing libraries, Dangol claims, however, haven’t been able to provide enough facilities and new books.

Most of the readers visiting the public libraries go there to read newspapers and some simply to kill time. Only a few of them visit for research purposes.

“We have 100 -150 visitors every day and half of them come to read newspapers and magazines while half of them are serious readersA who come to read other books,” says Dangol.

At Kaiser Library, Sitaram Shrestha, assistant chief librarian, says, “About 120 readers from all age groups and background visit the library and most of them come to study books while some come here to pass their time. We don’t have memberships or borrowing provisions, so the visitors come here during opening hours and read here,” he informs.

To a casual visitor, the dearth of reading culture in Nepal is apparent in the empty chairs in these few existing public libraries. Even those who visit the libraries aren’t satisfied as they don’t get the books they are searching for.

“I generally spend about three to four hours in the library every day and most of the time the library remains empty as there aren’t many readers,” says Ramesh Thapa, 24, who is doing a Master of Arts at Tribhuwan University (TU).

“A student’s main intention is to pass exams with good marks so they mainly focus on their curriculum and don’t read other books,” says Thapa. “Even I’m busy reading books only related to my course of study at the library and I don’t borrow books too often as I’m usually busy preparing for exams,” he adds.

“Though most of the times I read books related to my course of study, I also read literature and newspapers,” says Badri Ghimire, 24, Masters level student of mathematics at TU.

“Most of the Masters level students and especially those who are writing their thesis visit the central library, but other students rarely go,” he says. “The central library at TU is the biggest library in the country, but still it has not adopted information technology and it’s tedious to search for books,” Ghimire adds.

“I have never seen our professors studying in the library, so when there is no reading culture among the teacher how can we expect students to be reading in the library?” asks Bimal Kumar Dahal, 25, Masters level student of mathematics at Tribhuwan University.

“There aren’t enough libraries in Kathmandu - let’s not talk about places outside Kathmandu, and even in those few libraries we have - there aren’t enough books,” he adds.

“If we want to develop a civilized society, we should start with a library. The government should open libraries with good infrastructure and management at accessible locations so that the general public can make the best use of the libraries,” Bhandai adds.

He also believes there should be a “reading culture” among teachers so they can recommend books to students.

“We should have a library act to establish and organize community, academic, and national libraries,” says Dangol as he emphasizes that policymakers need to realize that libraries are one of the infrastructures of development.

But Dangol brings up another point,”If we really want to promote reading culture here, it should start from our homes. Parents should tell stories and read books to their children. Through the festival of Basanta Panchami, our culture has also given emphasis on reading as people start reading on that day.” He adds, “But these days, the curriculum is textbook oriented and students aren’t reading other books.” 

 source:republica,Dinesh Karki,23 March 2011