Editorial»
Universal primary education: Still a mirage
JAN 01 - Empowerment of the weaker section of the society is the key in the process of development in modern times. Education is, of course, the precondition of such empowerment. Ironically, illiteracy still haunts many countries in the world. Those deprived of the primary education comprised more than 860 million in the world who have remained illiterate.
The number of illiterates is on the rise despite the efforts being carried in the international level. Although the statistics shows that the percentage of the illiterate fell from 30.8% in 1980 to 22.8% in 1995, the picture in the education sector in many countries remain gloomy. Today more than 100 million children of primary school age do not have access to the schools. Moreover the Education for All by 2015, (EFA) an international campaign launched by the UNESCO does not seem to be in track in many countries including Nepal.
World Conference on Education for All, held in Jomtien in 1990, was a landmark in the history of mankind to promote education. The aim of the EFA was re-specified as six major goals at the World Education Forum, held in Dakar, Senegal in April 2000.
A new resolution made plain at the Dakar Forum that all parties should be accountable for their record in meeting the commitments they had made. National governments agreed to dedicate themselves to securing the goals, while international agencies pledged support that no country thus committed would be prevented from achieving them because of the lack of resources.
The Dakar Forum agreed on six goals:
·All children of primary school age would have access to complete free schooling of acceptable quality
·Gender disparity in schooling would be eliminated
·Levels of adult illiteracy would be halved
· Early childhood care and education would be expanded
·Learning opportunities for youth and adult would be greatly increased
·All aspects of education quality would be improved
According to the Report produced by an independent international team based in UNESCO in 2002, 28 countries with over 26 percent of the world population may not achieve the three measurable Dakar goals: universal primary education, gender equality and halving illiteracy rates.
The EFA assessment 2000 Country report of Nepal has admitted: Although the development is significant, the situation where Nepal stands now in terms of educational status is still far from the world status. About 50% of the 6 plus year age group population is still illiterate, and about 30% of primary-school age children are still not enrolled in school. A significant proportion of the children who are enrolled in primary school repeat Grade 1 or drop out of school. Many of these problems pertain to the social and economic situation of the country.
There are basically three elements standing as challenges to the Dakar goals
- lack of funds
- lack of teachers
- and internal conflicts
These three factors are universal phenomenon prevailing in the more than 80 countries of the world. The internal conflicts are digging holes in the economy of these poverty- stricken countries. Most of the funds in these countries are either spent in combating with the rebel forces or in the reconstruction of the infrastructures in post-conflict period.
Lack of fund has been a long-standing problem in the underdeveloped countries. But in the case of Nepal, more than 13 percent of the total annual national budget outlay has been set aside for the public education sector. What is lacking in the country is the strong mechanism to prevent the wastage and leakage in scarce resources.
Educational Statistics Of Nepal (School Level)-At A Glance 2001 (2058), a government statistics shows that there are 24,943 primary schools (grade 1-5) with a total enrolment of 38,53,618. The presence of girl students in the primary schools seems to be modest with 44.8% of the total enrolment. The number of teachers has figured as 96659. The student- teacher ratio stand as 39.9%. The nominal figure of 14.7% teacher is trained and rest are not.
The modest ratio of teacher-students stands at 1:25. The cases are alike in the underdeveloped countries, having the ratio of 1:40. But what is seen practically in case of Nepal is most of the teachers work more as cadres of political parties and less as teachers. Primary schools in the most of the remote areas of hills and the Terai belt find three teachers to manage five grades of classes with roughly 1500 students. During the working days of these schools out of three teachers one is always busy in visiting district headquarters on ‘official work’. Another teacher is either on leave or busy elsewhere in the village than in the classroom. One teacher who keeps himself physically present in the school finds it impossible to manage the entire school.
The dropout rate of the students is frustrating. If there are 60 students in grade 1, there are hardly 7 students in grade 5 of the same school. The results of these public schools are so poor that they hardly cross 10 percent. More horrifying is the fact that there is a number of the government school performing badly in exams. The inadequate number of trained teachers and the over-politicisation of teachers are some of the factors contributing to the poor results. The Maoist insurgency has added to the worsening situation of the education sector. The reports are pouring in every day about the fleeing of the teachers from the schools compelling the closure of the schools.
Apart from the insurgency, there are other factors like social discrimination in schools that has affected studies. The cases of ‘untouchables’ and Dalits, ethnic groups and ‘Brahminacal superiority’ are other factors contributing to the deteriorating situation in the educational sector of the country.
Other pathetic discrimination is indulged by the INGOs and NGOs involved in education. For example, there are a number of early childhood development centres (ECD) run by these organisations that are more contributing to discrimination between a selected few and the rest of the children in the village. An ECD accommodates 20 children. They get reading materials, playing materials, clean dresses and of course mid-day lunch. These 20 children spend nice time in schools while rest of the children of the village watch them longingly.
The right to education is a fundamental human right. It occupies a central place in human rights and is essential and indispensable for the exercise of all other human rights and for development. With the present gloomy situation in the educational sector right from the basic education like universal primary education, what more one can expect for the safeguarding of human rights.
Surprisingly, social reformers with much dedication and commitments are nowhere in sight theses day. A study is required to learn whether the breed of social reformers has been driven away by the jet-setting ‘development workers’ who are paid fat salaries and perks by the INGOs and who operate from the air-conditioned offices. A social revolution in the educational sector in order to keep ‘the sick country’ on the right track is needed before the country falls into a “ditch of no return.”
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