Kathmandu -  This week nominal news regarding issues on education was covered in the media. The issues covered this week were political matters covering forceful appointment of teachers commission officials and affiliation to private medical colleges by KU, and fearful environment for the students in Benighatrorang Rural Municipality and Northwest Nigeria. 

 

- The news on the ‘forceful’ appointment of commission officials by the education minister was reported in the media.  It stated that the education secretary, under the direction of the education Minister has written a letter to the Public Service Commission to reconsider the recommendation and evaluation instead of appointing the teachers. The process of appointing about 12,000 permanent teachers and other activities in community schools has been stopped due to non-appointment of members including the chairperson in the Teachers Service Commision, stated the news. 

 

- Another news stated that ten of the former vice-chancellors of various universities have also demanded to correct the decision taken by Kathmandu University (KU) to give affiliation to B&C Medical College. KU has taken forward the affiliation process of B&C Medical College in Jhapa under the direct direction of Prime Minister Oli and Education Minister Shrestha. Kathmandu University Professors' Association has also objected to the decision saying that the issue was not discussed in the meeting. A statement issued by the association stated that the decision was taken against the movement for medical education reform and the agreement reached with the government. The association has concluded that the university should not be involved in the jurisdiction of the Medical Education Commission. 

 

The issue of affiliations to private colleges under the pressure of ruling political parties was also covered previous week. 

 

- News stated that Byas Municipality, Tanahun, is set to vaccinate around 1,500 community and private school teachers against COVID-19 inside the municipality. It stated that the municipality’s Education, Youth and Sports Department will vaccinate teachers from March 7.

 

Figure : Agitated students protesting in Jawalakhel road after the death of a 19-year-old female student of Koteshwor Multipurpose Campus who was hit by a sumo jeep on her way to campus. The students have been demanding to take strict action against the jeep driver and provide compensation to the bereaved family. The news was posted on 4th March 2021 on Kantipur Daily. 

 

Fearful environment for the students to go schools

 

- The news on abduction of school children for a boarding school in northwest Nigeria was continued with the government officials stating that the gunmen have freed all 279 girls abducted.  The victims of the abduction were reported stating their abductors had beaten and threatened to shoot them.

 

- A piece of news stated that Chandrodaya Secondary School in Benighatrorang Rural Municipality, Dhading, has forcibly cut the hair of 150 students in the name of maintaining discipline. The students complained that the school administration had cut their hair even though they did not violate school discipline. Some students sustained minor injuries on the head and eyes after they refused a haircut, the news stated. The parents and guardians have expressed serious concern about the matter. The students said the school created a panic situation and misbehaved with them. The head teacher was reported stating that the school was compelled to force students to cut their hair as the school notified students to maintain discipline beforehand and claimed that the media had unnecessarily exaggerated the incident.

 

Such incidents by schools in the name in discipline is a fearful act to the students forcing them against their will to teach discipline. Schools and teachers need to realize that such acts are not only considered violent but also impact the mental health and wellbeing of the student. Private schools and colleges also hire Discipline Incharge (DI) to discipline their students. The issue regarding the psychological wellbeing of the students and the counselling of the teachers, students and DI should be considered while also defining what kind of discipline does the student really require. 

 

India’s assistance for school infrastructure is repeatedly covered for the past few weeks.

 

- The news on funds for school infrastructure included India extending Rs 44.17 million assistance for school building in Rupandehi, India-funded school reconstruction begins in Shree Bishnu Devi Secondary School of Chandragiri Municipality, and Indian Embassy has agreed to provide a grant of Rs 44.14 million for the construction of a new building of Naharpur Secondary School in Butwal.

 

- An opinion article expressed that volunteering programs as an extracurricular activity would be a real “gamechanger” sort of experience having profound impact on the students’ way of thinking.   The writer also stated that if the federal, provincial and municipal governments are serious about strengthening the public education system, then investing in volunteerism is going to be a safe bet. As a consequence, children will be active outside the classrooms, and their parents will be proud of their community work.

 

Abbreviations:  COVID- Corona Virus Disease, RM- Rural Municipality, TU- Tribhuvan University, KU-Kathmandu University, AFU- Agriculture and Forestry University, MoEST- Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, TUSC- Tribhuvan University Service Commission, NGOs- Non-Governmental Organizations, TUSC- Tribhuvan University Service Commission, CDC: Curriculum Development Centre, ECD- Early Childhood Development, SEE- Secondary Education Examination, SC- Supreme Court, VC- Vice Chancellor, DI- Discipline Incharge

 'Education this Week' is a joint effort to analyze the press coverage of education in Nepal’s selected print media published in Kathmandu (Online scanning was stopped due to the shortage of staff time from last week - apologies with the readers). The main aim of this effort is to identify and explain major education issues picked up by the media and give back and foreground 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) between 3-10 March 2021 (19-25 Falgun, 2077) - Editor.

Read this analysis in Nepali : राजनीतिक दवावमा अधिकार दुरुपयोग