Nepal’s Deficient Education System by Mia Albert
To receive an education means that an individual has a better chance of succeeding than someone without a quality schooling. Nepal has seen tremendous improvements to their education system, but it still leaves many kids without a place to learn or a very taxing journey to school every day. Nepal still lacks the necessary resources in many areas, causing some kids to be without the opportunity to receive an adequate education. Better access to schools and quality education is essential for success in Nepal.
Nepal has made big strides to improve their education system throughout the past years. To begin, Nepal has utilized homeschooling as their main educational system for many years, but has now begun to have more educational opportunities in schools. Nepal utilizes the Indian education system to form the way they teach in their private and public schools. The children begin by going to 10 years of primary school, which is followed by 4 years of college study and 2 years of master’s education. They utilize public schools to give a free education to kids that cannot afford private school. Although private schools require tuition, they have better professors that give the students a better education.
Although the education system has improved, there are still many obstacles in numerous student’s way of receiving a superior education. One big hurdle is for the children that do not live near a school. Many of them can’t make it, therefore they are not able to receive an education. For the others, they travel over obstacles no child should have to endure. The children that don’t live near schools must travel for an extensive amount of time and through rough terrain. Since Nepal is surrounded by some of the tallest mountains in the world, many kids start their journey traveling through tall and rocky mountains.
Some additional transportation problems need to be considered, such as the Bagmati River that runs through the valley in Nepal that many kids have to travel. The only method of transportation they have to cross the dangerous river is a basket hanging from cable ropes. The older kids, only about 11 or 12, stand on the weak cables and push the younger kids across the rope. A teacher in Nepal states, “If the rope rips apart and someone dies, then the government will look to it that a bridge is built,” as she explains how many of her students make it to school (Seenox). The journey to school continues to be vigorous. After a dangerous journey across the river, the only way the kids can complete their morning travel to school is to hitchhike on an incredibly busy highway. One documentary about Nepal’s education system states, “There are always accidents on the highway,” while talking about the dangerous highway (Seenox). The children wait for as long as they have to, hoping that someone will pick them up and they are not too late to school. The video attached below will allow further imagery about their way to school. Traveling this grueling journey twice a day takes a toll on the Nepalian children trying to receive an education.
Traveling this extensive and dangerous journey is not the only limitation with Nepal’s education system. If the children are able to make it to school, they face problems within the school, like the teachers who are not proficient at their jobs. Since schools struggle with underfunding, many of the teachers do not receive the education they need to be proficient. To add, since most of their education wasn’t adequate, they struggle teaching these children necessary skills. Since many of the children didn’t receive any education before they started school, they need a lot of help because they struggle learning and grasping the topics. As the Borgen Project talks about Nepal’s education system, they begin by stating, “Studies reveal that hardly any learning and teaching occurs in rural public schools,” (Moore). There is very little testing and no help for students who are struggling, proving that lack of quality teachers is a problem.
Underfunding in schools is a considerable cause to the poor quality of education. For example, since schools cannot afford many teachers, the classes are overfull. Below is an illustration of what a classroom in Nepal looks like. “Education in Nepal: The Problem Runs Deeper than Getting Children into School” talks about the limitations with the teachers by stating, “On top of this, the average class size is 40 students, with some areas having as many as 80 students in each class,” to show the considerable class sizes. With this many children in each class, the teachers are not able to give each child the help they need to succeed in their class. Due to the lack of guidance from their teachers, many of the children do not pass their final exams. “Education in Nepal: The Problem Runs Deeper than Getting Children into School” shows data by stating, “Of the children that make it through all 12 years of education, only 36% pass their final exams,” to show the low number of passing exams. Since this environment is tough, Nepal struggles with absent teachers, leading to less staff to teach the young children.
(Photo Credit: https://www.purplecakeday.org/_pcd/Library/Whowehelp/P1000313.jpg)
A flaw in the education system lies within the teachers at the schools in Nepal. For example, the number of teachers from lower class backgrounds is left unaddressed. Since there is a very low number of teachers with this background, many kids face discrimination. Therefore, they are not able to learn the same way as other children in their classes. To add, children must rely on their parents to supply school supplies because the teachers are not able to. For children from lower class areas, they are not able to afford the necessary supplies for class. “Education in Nepal: The Problem Runs Deeper than Getting Children into School” states, “Schools are often underfunded, relying on parents to provide books and other study materials, uniforms and ‘donations’ — these extras are something that many parents simply cannot afford,” while showing the lack of resources from the teachers. The lack of quality teachers in Nepal continues to be a problem children in the school system face.
Outside of the schools, the government and the economy play a big role in the success of schools. To start, since 2015, there have been two big events that have drastically affected education in Nepal. First, Nepal was hit with two massive earthquakes. These earthquakes destroyed many schools and houses, leaving many people out on the streets. Also, many children were left without somewhere to learn. Reid comments on the damage done to Nepal and states, “More than half of the country’s schools were damaged and destroyed, so close to 1 million children were out of school,” to show the damage on education. Below is a picture of the damage from the earthquake.
In a similar manner, when schools were rebuilt, children still struggled with their living situations. Therefore, the World Education News and Review stated, “Many children had to be instructed in makeshift tents, resulting in a noticeable increase in dropout and grade repetition rates,” as they gave examples of how the education system was affected (Borenovic Dilas, Dragana, et al). Moreover, the government has been under a major transition. Since the government has been broken up into local governments, many of these governments are not functioning yet. Therefore, improvements and support for schools has been very minimal.
(Photo credit: https://d.ibtimes.co.uk/en/full/1437494/nepal-earthquake.jpg)
Equally important, the economy of Nepal has a big impact on the education of children. Since Nepal is one of the least developed countries, they rely on mainly agricultural products to survive. For example, many poor families need as much help as they can get growing various crops, so they force their children to stay home and help them make a living. “Education in Nepal: The Problem Runs Deeper than Getting Children into School” states, “37% of children between 5 and 14 years old in Nepal are in enforced child labor; for children between the ages of 10 and 14 the rates are even higher – 61%,” while showing why many children do not receive an education. Many children struggle receiving an education due to the government and the economy in Nepal.
Education gives us the opportunity to gain knowledge to be able to change the world around us. It helps us be able to create opinions and have the skills to succeed in the world today. Without quality education and the necessary tools to succeed, the children in Nepal are not able to reach their full potential and succeed. Nepal needs to strengthen many different aspects of their education system in order to give the children the opportunity to thrive.
Works Cited
Borenovic Dilas, Dragana, et al. “Education in Nepal.” WENR, 16 Apr. 2019, wenr.wes.org/2018/04/education-in-nepal.
“Education in Nepal: The Problem Runs Deeper than Getting Children into School”, 5th October 2017.” Kidasha, 1 Oct. 2019, kidasha.org/education-in-nepal/.
Moore, Colleen. “7 Facts About Education in Nepal.” The Borgen Project, Borgen Project Https://Borgenproject.org/Wp-Content/Uploads/The_Borgen_Project_Logo_small.Jpg, 14 Aug. 2019, borgenproject.org/facts-about-education-in-nepal/.
Reid, Kathryn. “2015 Nepal Earthquake: Facts, FAQs, and How to Help.” World Vision, 10 July 2019, www.worldvision.org/disaster-relief-news-stories/2015-nepal-earthquake-facts.
Seenox. “20 Most Dangerous and Complicated Ways To School From Around The World.” Seenox, 10 Nov. 2014, www.seenox.org/dangerous-complicated-unusual-ways-to-school-that-actually-exist/.
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
