Education is about developing good habits in students’ minds and providing skills in their hands. These habits and skills enable students to observe, understand, and evaluate the world. Like apples and oranges, these “fruits” empower students to experience reality, apply it in their lives, and contribute to the world’s welfare.

Barriers to True Education

In our education system, the main villain preventing students from cultivating these fruits in their minds and hands is the Examination Control Office, while the current exam system itself is the disease that stunts their growth. This system neither allows apples to grow in the students' minds nor oranges in their hands.

The responsibility for cultivating real fruit must rest in the hands of teachers (farmers), not intermediaries. Teachers are the true farmers, educational institutions are the fields, and the Examination Control Office is like brokers who import unhealthy vegetables from India, spreading corruption in education and keeping teachers and schools in constant fear.

Sadly, however, our government and parents have also become servants to these brokers. To produce the fake “apples and oranges” dictated by the Examination Control Office, tuitions, cheating, and dishonest practices are encouraged. Even in my own household, I want to teach my son something beyond SEE, but my wife remains focused on getting him to pass the SEE. Is life really impossible without SEE?

Trying to produce fruit through coaching, tuition, and bridge courses is like tying fake fruit to a dead tree—good to look at but unfit to consume. As a result, our children cannot stay in their home towns and are compelled to go abroad, something we can see at the airport.

True Education

My definition of education is to develop habits in students' minds and skills in their hands. These habits and skills should enable students to observe the world, understand its reality, and evaluate it so that they can experience, apply, and express it for the benefit of society.
To illustrate, here are two examples:

●    Good Fruits in Mind and Hands: Take Anil Keshari, for example. He observes the world, understands how to make money, evaluates it, applies it in his life, and shares his knowledge with others. He continues to impart knowledge through YouTube and other platforms. Binod Chaudhary is another similar example.

●    Poor Fruits in Mind and Hands: Consider our country’s leaders. Their vision of the world is as poor as that of a mole, seeing everything as blurry. They lack the ability to understand reality and have the judgement skills of a heron, searching for worms in heaven, seeking money everywhere. They preach about saving the nation while indulging in personal luxuries, riding in luxury cars, yet despising the wealthy. Their actions resemble those of monkeys. Instead of applying their knowledge and contributing to the greater good, they focus solely on how to trap others. Most of the laws they create are not to build society but to destroy others' homes.

A Call to Action for Progress

To improve education, here is a call to action for the nation, parents, and students:

●    A Call to the Nation: The first step to improving education is to eliminate the brokers (Examination Control Office) and empower teachers (farmers). The current Examination Control Office resembles brokers who import unhealthy vegetables from India, keeping teachers and schools in a state of fear. The current SEE and other exams are like bombs that destroy students' potential. In the pursuit of passing the SEE, students lose essential skills like farming, cooking, and household management, leaving only deceptive survival skills.

●    A Call to Parents: Dear parents, today we must realize that it is our responsibility to raise our children, and it is through our taxes that they are educated. Those advocating for free education are future tyrants. Education achieved through taxes is meaningful. In the past, students were nurtured into warriors fit for their soil, but now they are being turned into donkeys by memorizing for exams.

Education should shape our children into strong, resilient individuals, not cage them like parrots for exams. Therefore, as a first step, let’s free our children from the burden of exam-focused education. If your goal is for them to go into business or trade, focus on practical skills rather than grinding them for SEE. Support vocational education in your community.

Let’s stop spending on coaching, tuition, and bridge courses. The SEE is simply a game of fear and exploitation; it holds little value in life. Let’s stop selling land to pay for this and instead invest in our children's true growth. Let’s invest in their future instead of scholarships for Grade 11. I have much more to say, but I will stop here for now.

●    A Call to Students: The current curriculum feeds you scraps, yet you understand the world faster than your teachers. You are like tigers, preferring to hunt rather than be fed scraps. You possess the ability to gather the knowledge your teachers acquired over a lifetime in a matter of moments. If you fail an exam, don’t feel ashamed; instead, be happy. Failure is also a part of learning and can teach you significant life lessons. People like Bill Gates, Einstein, Steve Jobs, and Elon Musk paved their own paths to success.

The exam system is like a tree-climbing competition designed for monkeys, but unsuitable for fish. Particularly for ethnic groups like Tamang, Magar, Rai, and Limbu, this exam system is not favorable. Failing an exam does not mean life is over. Fish don’t give up when they can’t climb trees; they thrive in the water. Similarly, recognize your unique strengths and pursue success in your own way.

Conclusion

When the Examination Control Office is removed, and education is placed in the hands of parents, teachers, and students, only then will we be able to cultivate true fruits that contribute to the advancement of society.

Lama, who returned to Nepal 7 years ago after studying in USA since 2011, belongs to a private school in Lalitpur.