“Education; enlightenment or impediment?”

 

A boy struggling almost half an hour to reach his school after ploughing the field just to attend a class where a teacher is some relative of a political leader without teacher license, someone who merely studied high school. Why? Because all the qualified people are settled in the capital.

Living in a country of 123 ethnic groups, being among the minor communities who are unable to afford any private schools and tuition, despite his mother tongue not being Nepali, he fails to catch up the pace of the teacher while translating to his language. Nobody asks if he has understood everything taught nor he has courage to put his queries in that crowded classroom. Last time he tried to ask and the teacher scolded him to focus on what was being taught and it wasn’t necessary for him to be ''oversmart''. All students laughed at him, but he grinned alone thinking how many inquisitive minds now will be suppressed with this demotivation. The students of rich families and teachers were only the priorities of teachers and the administration. The teaching method was a one -way method with no interaction, he was fed up with passive learning and bored routine. Extracurricular activities (ECA)was considered a hindrance to study. He came to the city to quench his thirst for education, now he is in the capital, Kathmandu.

He went to the top colleges but he was surprised to see the  extravagant fee greater than the placements and quality it showcased in the international arena. He went to government college but got anxious about the unnecessary manipulation of politics, ignoring the main objective of the institution - Education. Victimized by flourished private business in education, he got admitted to private college. In a few days he understood there wasn’t individuality in any student. They were to be taught something that doesn’t promote research and most of the knowledge gaining is done through model papers, referring to old Q&As and other learning material. He started feeling as if education was just to get jobs. Additionally, the education system was not strict with plagiarism and encouraged students to rely and study only from limited material. Contrary to what is expected, an institution where entrepreneurial skills and critical thinking skills enable them to become free thinkers. Although the curriculum of Nepal was not completely backward, it lacked a practical approach to learning, where students are motivated to research, create and learn from their own experience. Like a typical developing country, political instability and a weak bureaucratic system impacted the education system and has held it back from working independently.

After settling to a job far less than his educational degree he received a minimum salary. One day while reading a newspaper it wrote, ‘’Nepal students produce material based on research and are given lower grades in Nepal, when compared to their valuation in international universities and current industry requirements. ‘’

He gets perplexed while answering a question, ‘’Dad, what is education?’’