Kathmandu - This week news about different activities done by the government beyond its working domain, that intervened the autonomy of university were reported in news and editorial. News about Council of Ministers making decision about affiliation to colleges without consultation at the university’s council revoked letters to editors demanding resignation of the education minister and editorial claiming the government has lost its direction.News about sexual misconduct continued to be reported this week as well.Parents, student filed First Information Report on case of molestation against teacher finally after principal failed to file FIR under the pressure of SMC.Part time teachers at Bhojpur multiple Campus have started a series of agitation programs seeking to be hired on contract. MoEST Minister stated that CTEVT had not been able to produce adequate workforce required for the country while also stated CTEVT has given only temporary permits and no permanent affiliation to any private institutions stated the minister.
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Abbreviations: MoEST- Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, TU- Tribhuwan University, IOM- Institute of Medicine, TUSC-TU Service Commission, KD-Kantipur Daily, THT- The Himalayan Times, PM- Prime Minister, CTEVT-Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training, KMC- Kathmandu Metropolitan City, SMC- School Management Committee, VC- Vice Chancellor
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- An editorial this week stated that the government was intervening the autonomy of the university. Council of Ministers was making decision about affiliation to colleges without consultation at the universities. The process to grant affiliation requires different agencies inside the university to do assessment before presenting the case to the university council that makes the decision, but the Council of Ministers’ themselves were making such decisions stated the editorial, concluding that the government is not ready to respect the autonomy of the university.
- A letter to the editor called in for the resignation of the Minister of Education for his failure to take stands in multiple incidents from failing to stand for the report of High Level National Commission on Education which he himself lead, failure to consult with stakeholders on National Education Act, failing to create workable environment for local governments as committed by constitution for too long among other reasons.
- Public holiday was declared in Baitadi and Darchula municipality for the presidents' visit in the region for the inauguration of temple building, students’ hostel and a religious ceremony. Students were asked to compulsorily participate in the ceremony. Teachers expressed concernabout the impact in students’ education due to public holiday.
- An opinion article discussed about the need for transformation in the school system to make it relevant to the changing work environment. The writer stated the present world is moving towards the fourth industrial revolution. In this techno-ecosystem, different types of jobs, which we haven’t imagined and do not exist today, will be available in the near future. To cope with the changing world, the developed countries have been investing heavily in multi-disciplinary subjects - STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and maths). Students who have acquired a STEAM education engage in experimental learning, collaborate with others, involve in problem solving, think out of the box, handle activities and projects with more precision and creativity. The article stated STEAM education must be implemented at the school level as a major subject since it focuses on creativity, innovation and reflection to engage and solve problems in the future.
- Minister of Education, Science and Technology was reported stating that coordination among teachers, students and guardians was necessary to improve quality of education in community schools. Inaugurating a conference titled ‘Municipal Education for Empowerment of Community School’ in Siraha, Minister stated that teachers alone could do nothing to make community schools stand out. The government had announced the period between 2019 to 2029 as the decade to empower community education.
- An opinion article ‘Improving public schools; motivate the teachers’ discussed that quality of public schools is questioned basically on the premise that the teachers do not try as hard as the private school teachers and therefore even poor parents try to send their kids to private schools to have a better future. The article claimed that study show parents and expert regard permanent teacher's lack of accountability in school performance as a primary reason rather than temporary and private teachers. The article noted that of the permanent, temporary and private teachers, private teachers are regarded to work harder than the others as they need to impress the school to keep their job while most complaints are about permanent teachers. The lack of provision to fire teachers from the school and at extreme cases, just transfer to different school is the only action schools can take to teachers. The Article state Teachers as human beings are emotional beings rather than statistical beings, and it needs emotional motivation and recognition to get the best out of them. The writer recommended that new policy that makes permanent teachers to be transferred to new schools every five to seven years, to keep the spirit high and ensure sincerity. It also recommends that measures to reward best performance also be part of frequent assessment of teachers’ performance.
- It was reported this week that the programs recommended by the Prime minister would be prioritized in the President’s Education Improvement Program. Previously a procedure where president’s active engagement in the selection of programs was approved from the Council of Ministers. After public outrage on the procedure, it was amended to make the prime minister’s role active in the process. Experts stated that the intention of the federal government to hold the power given to the local government by constitution can be realized by this action. Programs and budget for intervention at school level are being planned to be carried out by the federal units.
- The government has decided to assign volunteer teachers in 648 municipalities in the subjects of English, Science, Maths and Technical subjects to fill the vacant teachers post. Teaching License is compulsory to be able to teach in schools, but for voluntary teachers degrees in relevant subject has been stated as the only requirement. Only 71 public schools out of 6501 school had teachers in all of English, Maths and Science subjects. In the mean while Computer Faculty Association had protested stating that the government failed to make computer as optional subjects for students from other faculty.
'Education this Week' is a joint effort put to analyze the press coverage of education in Nepal’s selected print media published in Kathmandu. The main aim of this effort is to identify and explain major education issues picked up by the media and give back and foreground of the news.This, we believe, will help policy makers and other responsible people to keep abreast with ongoing concerns and discussions on and around education. EduKhabar, in collaboration with the Center for Educational Policies and Practices (CEPP) , has produced this analysis based on the news printed in Kantipur (Nepali) and The Himalayan Times (English), Dailies andHimal Weekly(Nepali) betweenFeb 26-March 3, 2020(Falgun 14-20, 2076)- Editor.
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