Shaping and reshaping education refers to how the education system of Nepal has been taking shape from the past to the present time and how it is being structured and modified. The form/ structure of education doesn’t always remain the same. It keeps changing with time. Various commissions and committees have been formed at the national level to submit suggestions, recommendations, reports etc. to the government for the education development of Nepal. In this context, the main recommendations of the post-democracy educational plan and commission and their application in the school system are mentioned as follows:
Nepal National Education Planning Commission (NNEPC -2011 BS)
a. Introduction
After the political change of
2007 BS in Nepal, the Board of Education was formed in 2009 BS to
systematically advance education in the country. After this, on the
recommendation of this board, in order to study the country’s situation of
education and prepare a national education plan, under the chairmanship of
Sardar Rudraraj Pandey, on 9th Chaitra, 2010 BS, the government formed a
46-member Nepal National Education Planning Commission. The academic advisor to
this commission was Dr. Hugh B. Wood, Professor of Education, University of
Oregon, USA. It studied the country's education for almost a year and submitted
a report titled Education in Nepal on Falgun 16, 2011BS (1 march, 1955) to
the government. Dilliraman Regmi was the education minister at that time. This is considered to be the first and
formally prepared investigative report to develop education in an orderly and
organizational manner.
b. National
goals of education
The commission recommended an
'education system' that would strengthen the democratic way of life in order to
provide systematic and definite direction to public education. However, the commission did not clearly state
the national goals and objectives of education. But in summary, the commission
took the educational views to adopt a democratic approach to education for the
benefit of the people and the advancement of the country, establish a
need-based national education system, provide universal and free education,
establish a national university, teacher training, adult education system, etc.
c. Distinctive
features of national education
The characteristic features of
education offered by NNEPC are as follows:
-
Education will be
universally accessible
-
Education will be
national
-
Education will be free
-
Duration of
education will vary
-
Education will be
given to many at different rates
-
Education will
respect people
-
Education will be
job oriented
-
Education will
develop citizenship
-
Primary education
shall provide minimum education of a general nature to the masses
-
Secondary
education will be multi-purpose providing general and vocational education to a
growing population that will benefit through vocational leadership training.
-
Higher education
will be organized under a national university
-
Teachers will be
given professional and general education
-
Adult education
will be accessible to all
-
Textbooks and instructional materials, supplies and equipment, suitable
buildings and sites will be provided
-
There will be
decentralization in the organization, administration and control of education
-
Education will be
adequately financed
but largely from local resources.
d.
Major Recommendations of NNEPC
The
commission has presented a summary of its studies and recommendations in the
19th chapter of the report. Some of
these recommendations are as follows:
-
A research
department should be opened immediately in the Ministry of Education
-
A uniform system
of free and public education should be established throughout the country from
primary level to adulthood. In
particular, a) five years of general and practical primary school education b)
five years of multi-purpose (including vocational education) secondary school
education, c) 2 to 7 years of general and specialized college education under
the university system, d) comprehensive adult education e) administrative Reforms should be made for restructuring and
f) adequate financing on education.
-
The primary school
should be allowed to adjust and expand to suit local conditions and at the same
time a 5-year curriculum should be developed and adjusted for this
education. The curriculum should provide
minimum learning for social studies, science, health, languages, mathematics,
crafts, fine arts and personal development.
-
A five-year
multi-purpose secondary school should be developed in every district of
Nepal. Its curriculum should provide a)
general education for all comprising subjects like social studies, applied
science, Nepali, applied mathematics and personal physical development, b) a
'major' based subject on individual choice for pre-vocational training in commerce,
agriculture, industry, home making and general college preparatory work. and c) optional subjects that help vocational
subjects such as foreign languages, fine arts and crafts, music and folk dance,
experimental languages, art and others according to their choice.
-
A national
university with colleges in liberal arts and sciences, agriculture and
forestry, teacher education, law, nursing education, medicine and dentistry,
home science, polytechnics and other fields as needed should be established
immediately.
-
For the
development of adult education programs, adult literacy should be emphasized
with immediate importance.
-
The target of
providing short-term training facilities to 1000 primary teachers per year
should be given immediate priority. Degree-granting
College should be established by 2013 BS.
Special course for the staffs of training centers and colleges and by
2014 BS, the level should be upgraded within the dominion of Nepal.
-
A Permanent Instructional
Materials Commission should be immediately formed in the Ministry of Education
for the selection, preparation, production and distribution of instructional materials.
A modern education printing press should be installed to produce textbooks and
other materials and the textbooks should be distributed through the National
Book Store.
-
Administrative and
supervisory policies should be reorganized from ministries to local management
committees to ensure modern democratic practices with decentralization.
-
Decentralization
of taxation, expenditure and financial control should be done by considering
land reform as infrastructure (for spending on education at the national level)
to achieve educational costs.
-
The school program should
be increased by developing schools as
community centers, developing effective public relations, promoting adult education,
maintaining community libraries, organizing youth activities and club level
activities, organizing sports during vacations, organizing social welfare
activities, extracurricular activities, health services, and the fresh food
program as far as possible.
-
The organization
and administration of the proposed national educational program, the local
economy, the establishment of primary, secondary and national universities, the
collection and publication of school statutes, the protection of teachers' interests
and other educational laws etc. should be developed.
As per the suggestions and recommendations of the
commission named "Education in Nepal", National Primary School and
Secondary School were established.
Multi-purpose schools were established for vocational education. Tribhuvan University was established (2016
BS) and TU Act 2016 was promulgated. A 'College
of Education' was established for teacher training (2013, 24 Bhadra). Non-formal education program started. An attempt was made to incorporate the
recommendations of the Planning Commission for the planned development of
education.
National Education System Plan: NESP 2028-2032 BS (1971- 1975)
Despite various efforts (NNEPC-2011 and
ARNEC-2018) before 2027 BS, it was felt that education was not timely and it
was not suited to the national needs and character. Therefore, in order to make comprehensive
reforms in the education sector, King Mahendra announced an educational plan to
be implemented in a phased manner in the country on Baisakh 5, 2028 BS, which
is known as the National Education System Plan or New Education Plan. It was implemented across the dominions in a
phased manner from 2028-2032. It was implemented in the first year 2028, in two
districts, in the second year 2029, thirteen districts, in the third year 2030,
fifteen districts, in the fourth year 2031, twenty districts and in the fifth
year 2032, the remaining 25 districts were implemented throughout the
dominion. The initial years 2028 and
2029 were called the experimental phase, while the next two years 2030 and 2031
were called the mid-term phase and year 2032 was called the permanent
phase. The features of the National
Education System Plan can be mentioned as follows:
a. National
Goals/ Aims/ Objectives of Education
The National Education System Plan (NESP)
2028 specified the national goals and objectives of education as follows:
·
To prepare citizens who
are loyal to the nation and nationalism, protect national unity, sovereignty, monarchy
and freedom, and who are alert and active about their rights according to the
law.
·
To develop, protect,
promote and spread the necessary knowledge, science, technology and skills for
the economic development of the country and to prepare necessary qualified cadres
in each field of the country's development.
·
To inculcate the
following qualities in each person:
-
Moral character
-
Habit to hard work
-
Self reliance
-
A scientific approach to
thinking
-
Manners of appreciation
of others
-
A passionate feeling
towards art and aesthetics
-
A sense of world
brotherhood
·
To preserve,
promote, propagate and develop national language and literature, culture and
arts
b. Structure
of Education
This commission mentioned
the structure of education in Nepal as follows:
I.
Structure of School Level
Education
·
First level: The class from
one to three was called primary education. Its aim was to make children
literate. For this, 64 percent of children aged six to eight were targeted to provide
primary education in the next five years.
·
Second level: From grade four
to seven was called lower secondary education. The main purpose of this level
of education was to teach patriotism, royal devotion, character building and
initiation of pre-vocational education. Among
the children who have received primary education, 40% of the children were targeted
for lower secondary education. There was an arrangement to provide uniform
education from classes 1 to 7 (basic level and classes 4-7) across the country,
while diversification was started from class 8 onwards.
·
Third level: Class eight
to ten was called secondary education. The main objective of this level of
education was to prepare productive and useful citizens with emphasis on
vocational education. Secondary education was of three types namely general, vocational
and Sanskrit. Vocational subject of 200 full marks in general and Sanskrit
secondary school and 300 full marks in vocational secondary school were made
compulsory. There were 34 such vocational subjects. SLC was of 900 full marks. 50 percent of the children who have received lower
secondary level education were targeted to reach secondary level education. After
Class 7, an entrance exam was arranged for secondary school admission.
·
Structure of Higher
Education
The main objective of higher education was
to produce trained manpower. It had four levels and each level was associated
with vivid levels trained manpower. Tribhuvan
University was made an autonomous body and it was expected to produce different
level manpower estimated by the Ministry of Education. The level and main
objective of higher education were as follows:
i.
Certificate level: Its main objective was to produce low-level manpower.
ii.
Diploma level: Its main objective was to produce middle level
manpower.
iii.
Degree level: Its main objective was to produce higher-level
manpower.
iv.
Research level: It was the last level of higher education and its
main objective was to produce manpower of research or specialized level.
c.
National Education
Committee
A National Education Committee
was constituted with members nominated by the King. It performed different
functions such as necessary policy making and giving directions, maintaining
relationships, evaluating progress, issuing reports, etc.
d.
Curriculum
It was mentioned that a
committee of university experts and professors would be formed to develop the
curriculum of higher education and adopt an inter-disciplinary approach while
creating the curriculum. In order to
improve the process of acquiring only theoretical knowledge, writing books
involving professors and conducting training, seminars, workshops, etc. was
mentioned. A Curriculum Development
Center was established to institutionally develop the curriculum at TU.
It was mentioned in the plan
that only the work of developing the pre-primary education curriculum and
teacher training would be done by the government, but the responsibility of
opening a pre-primary school would not be taken by the then government. The
primary grade curriculum emphasized basic language and math skills and basic
knowledge of agriculture. Character
building and instilling respect for labor were mentioned in the curriculum of
the lower secondary classes and emphasis was placed on the development of vocational
knowledge in the secondary classes. Similarly, higher education was aimed to supplying
the necessary manpower. It was mentioned that curriculum should be created with
the aim of emphasizing physical education and practical health education in all
classes. It was expected that a
Curriculum Development Center (C.D.C.) would be established under the Ministry
of Education to develop the curriculum at the school level through which
continuous curriculum development would take place. Nepali language was maintained as the medium
of instruction up to the secondary level.
Improvements in teaching methods by organizing various trainings,
spreading new methods of teaching throughout the country, and conducting
research in this regard were mentioned.
e. Educational
materials
This plan
considered textbooks as important teaching materials. Arranged to write, print
and distribute textbooks from Janak Shiksha Material Center. Similarly, it was
mentioned that practice manuals and teaching instruction manuals would be
prepared, textbooks would be distributed free of charge to the students of
primary level in remote districts and other districts, and other necessary
educational materials would also be arranged properly. Similarly,
implementation of radio education and school library system was also included.
f. Teacher
training and improvement in service
It was
arranged to train teachers according to the need and to increase their level,
to make the training mandatory, to prepare teachers of primary, lower secondary
and secondary respectively by giving one year training to SLC, IA and BA pass or
equivalent and to provide training to those who are working. Similarly, in
order to improve the service of teachers, it was mentioned in the plan to
establish an Education Service Commission in each district to recruit,
transfer, promote and terminate teachers, and determine the salary of teachers
at the national level on the basis of their
qualification and training. The basis
of promotion of teachers and the tradition of providing other facilities were
also mentioned in the plan.
g. Examination
system
Internal
assessment system was implemented in schools.
For this, a unit test and an exam to assess student progress were made every
3/3 months. Provision of adding 25% marks of internal exam in SLC was made. Arrangements
were made to keep record of students' progress by the teachers, to make the
questions as scientific as possible and to improve the way the answer sheets
were tested. Similarly, it was set to take district level exam at the end of
primary level, zonal level exam at the end of lower secondary level and SLC
test exam at district level.
h. Education
administration
In the educational
administration, planning, implementation and evaluation were carried out
together, in which planning and evaluation work was centralized and
implementation was made decentralized. Eastern, Central and Western regional
directorates were established for the implementation of the plan. In order to have a direct relationship with
the school, it was arranged that there would be a district education officer in
the district and a school support committee in the school.
i. Supervision system
The plan mentioned two
types of school inspection, firstly, to inspect the physical facilities of the
school, adequacy and utilization of teachers, and secondly, to evaluate the level
of teaching being done. Both of these inspections were scheduled at least twice.
For primary, lower secondary, secondary and vocational education,
qualifications and standards were also determined and arrangements were made to
have inspectors. The system of evaluating the schools based on the inspection
report and giving them grants was mentioned.
j. Adult
education
The plan provided for
adult education to be of two types, one for spreading literacy and the other
for functional adult education. It was determined that the government would
emphasize on conducting functional adult education and that the literacy
program would be run by class organizations and local Panchayats.
k. Policy
of Financial Subsidy
The plan stated
that the government will subsidize entire teachers' salaries at the primary
level, 75% at the lower secondary level (but fully for schools in designated
remote areas), full subsidy for secondary schools in designated remote areas
and 75% for vocational secondary level elsewhere and 50% for general secondary
level. And for higher education, it was
arranged that the government will bear the entire cost in technical subjects
and 20 to 25% in the case of other subjects. However, buildings, furniture and
other things had to be arranged from local sources.
l.
Extra curricular activities
The
plan made extracurricular activities an integral part of the school. It was
made compulsory to every teacher and school.
P.T. was made mandatory. It was
made possible to conduct social services inside the school and in outer society.
m. Physical
facilities
The plan provided
for the Ministry of Education to issue directives regarding school buildings,
furniture and other items. It was specified that there should be one room per
class in every school and laboratory, workshop and library room in secondary
schools.
n.
Provision of scholarship
Scholarships
were arranged for poor and genius children, educationally backward areas and classes. It was mentioned that the person who received
scholarship for higher education and completed their studies and trainings
should work for at least 5 years in the place assigned by the government.
O. National
Development service
It was arranged that after
passing the third year or fifth year of higher education, every student who
gets higher education should go and serve in villages under the National
Development Service for one year. The National
Development Service was divided into four divisions namely
the education service corps, health service corps, agriculture service corps
and construction corps. Arrangements were also made for them to be given
military and professional training and posted in the villages, and the relevant
ministry would pay them and also conduct their inspection and evaluation.
Major characteristics/strength or contributions
of NESP
The first transformative and ambitious
plan implemented in the education sector in Nepal was the National Education
System Plan 2028. Although there were various attempts before this, this
project completely changed the educational system of Nepal and introduced a new
national education system throughout the country. Although it was considered as
a plan for 2028-2032, it was implemented as a 10-year plan. Here we will
discuss the major features and/or contributions of this plan:
-
It ensured the national
objective of education and for this it improved the organization and structure
of education.
-
It established a national
system in education by applying the uniform type of education system throughout
the country.
-
It emphasized vocational
education and production of skilled manpower.
-
It reformed the service terms
and conditions of teachers
-
It determined Nepali as
the medium of instruction up to secondary level.
-
Uniform curriculum and
textbooks were implemented throughout the country
-
It emphasized teacher
training and modernization of curricula and textbooks
-
It placed importance on
student internal assessment and also provided for the inclusion of internal
assessment marks in the SLC examination
-
It made the inspection
system more systematic and also introduced a system for conducting extra
activities.
-
It made the provision of
scholarships to poor and genius students
-
It institutionalized the
National Development Service in Higher Education
-
It also formulated plans
regarding the number of students to be admitted at various levels,
qualification of teachers, examinations, salaries, grants etc.
-
It gave importance to
adult education programs etc.
Negative
aspects and weaknesses
Although there are
many positive aspects of the National System Plan 2028, some of the negative
aspects can be mentioned as follows:
-
The proposed three-year
period of primary education was insufficient for literacy development
-
It was unable to address
drop out problem
-
The structure and
management needed to make vocational education attractive and useful was
lacking
-
Although emphasis was
placed on vocational and technical education, the curriculum was oriented
towards theoretical knowledge rather than practical skills.
-
It was an expensive plan
that couldn't be sustained by the country's economic situation
-
The secondary education
curriculum was seen as more ambitious.
The area of diversification in subject selection was narrowed.
-
This did not stop the
children of the rich from going abroad for education.
-
The availability of
physical and educational materials in schools was disappointing
-
Bureaucracy prevailed in
educational administration, supervision, training and arrangement and
management of expert teachers
-
National Development
Service could not be implemented effectively etc.
National Education Commission (NEC): 1992
The people's
movement of 2046 saw the end of the panchayat system and the restoration of
democracy. This led to changes in every
field including education. It was considered necessary to make changes in the
existing educational policy and education system to make education in
accordance with advancement of science and technology and the spirit of
political change. For this, a fifteen-member
National Education Commission was formed on falgun 14, 2047 to submit
suggestions on chairmanship of the then education minister Dr. Kesharjung
Rayamajhi. On the 13th of Shravan 2048 BS (29 July 1991), the commission was
reconstituted, which was chaired by the then Minister of Education Shri Ramhari
Joshi. Sixteen -member commission
prepared its report during the education minister Govindaraj Joshi's tenure
until 5th Jestha 2049 and submitted it to the then Prime Minister Shri Girija
Prasad Koirala on 14th Ashadh 2049 (28 June 1992). The report was 214 pages
long with 13 titles and 2 appendices.
The Commission, with the help of UNESCO was assisted by Dr. T.N. Dhar, Dr.
Grant Harman and Mr. John Beynon as consultants.
a. Major
Characteristic Features of NEC 2049
The main features of this
commission were as follows:
-
While formulating the
objectives of education, the fundamental rights of the Constitution of the
Kingdom of Nepal 2047 and the guiding principles of the State's policy have
been kept in mind.
-
Emphasis has been placed
on the expansion of formal education as well as non-formal education programs to
make education universally accessible
-
The concept of
decentralizing higher education facilities and establishing universities at the
regional level has been introduced
-
Emphasis has been placed
on integrating technical and vocational education into the mainstream of
education from early grades
-
The private sector has
been encouraged in the expansion of education
-
The educational structure
prevailing in the country has been reconstructed keeping in mind the education
system of the neighbouring countries
-
Emphasis has been placed
on quantitative as well as qualitative development of education etc.
b. Major
Recommendations and Suggestions of NEC 2049
A summary of the recommendations given by
the National Education Commission 2049 for the development of education is
mentioned below:
I.
National Aims / objectives of
education
NEC presented the national aims and objectives
of education in the changing context as follows:
-
Education should help to flourish
the inherent talent and potential of personality development in every
individual
-
Education should support
the development of a healthy social life by promoting the sovereign human
values as well as national and social norms and beliefs in each individual.
-
Education should
strengthen social cohesion (unity) by assisting in the socialization of individuals
-
Education should help
people to live a harmonious life in the modern era while maintaining their
identity in the national and international circumstances
-
Education should support
the modernization of society and develop human resources for nation building
-
Education should
contribute to the conservation and utilization of the natural environment and
national heritage
-
Education should help to
integrate the backward people in the society into the national mainstream
c. Structure
of Education
In
order to achieve the above objectives, the Commission has mentioned three ways
to provide education and skills through formal, informal and vocational methods
by changing the prevailing (existing) structure:
·
One year of
pre-primary education for children who have reached 4 years
·
Grades 1 to 5 as
the primary level in which grades one to three considered as basic education. Must
have completed 6 years for admission in class 1.
·
Three types of
secondary education: Grades 6 to 8 as lower secondary, 9-10 as secondary and
11-12 as higher secondary education
·
Higher secondary
education is of five types namely General, Vocational, Technical, Polytechnic
and Sanskrit
·
Three-year
Bachelor's or Bachelor's degree with honors in General, Science, Pedagogy,
Management and Sanskrit Studies
·
Various levels of
higher education have been maintained such as Certificate Level 2 years,
Graduate Level 3 years, Post Graduate Level 2 years, M.Phil. Level 1 year and
Research Level as required (2-5 years)
·
Transfer of
certificate level program conducted at the university level to higher
education, and after the post graduate level, M. phil. is considered a
prerequisite for PhD level
·
In medicine, four
and a half years MBBS and four years graduation in other technical subjects
·
Recommendation for
formation of an open university for those who are unable to receive formal
education in the university to take exams by conducting daily programs through
correspondence, radio and TV.
d.
Level wise Objectives of
Education
According to
the report of the National Education Commission, the level
wise objectives of education have been determined as
follows:
I.
Objectives of primary
education:
To develop children's inherent
abilities by making education child-centered, to develop simple writing,
reading and arithmetic skills that occur in daily life, to develop qualities
such as honesty, self-reliance, hard work by promoting useful values and
beliefs as well as developing civil, scientific and environmental awareness
II.
Objectives of lower
secondary education:
To prepare characterful
citizens who have positive feelings towards labor, believe in nation and
democracy and have appropriate level of knowledge in Nepali language,
mathematics and science.
III.
Objectives of Secondary
Education
To prepare citizens who are
competent in linguistic behavior, creative, cooperative, familiar with national
traditions and culture, bear scientific understanding, self-supporting,
entrepreneurial and aware of democratic life values.
IV.
Objectives of Higher
Secondary Education:
To prepare medium level
manpower
V.
Objective of Higher
Education:
To prepare high-level skilled
manpower according to national needs.
e.
Curriculum of Education
The NEC recommended that the
development of school-level curriculum should be done by the Curriculum
Development Centre (CDC) , and for higher education, by the respective
universities. The commission suggested a total of 500 marks curriculum for the
basic level of primary education (grades 1-3), comprising the subjects like
Nepali language, mother tongue or other language, mathematics, social
education, health, physical and environmental education, art (handicrafts,
painting, dance etc.). Similarly, for classes four and five, 700 full marks
including English and Science, and for lower secondary level (6-8 classes), a
total of 750 full marks was allotted including the subjects such as Nepali, Sanskrit, English, Mathematics, Science and
Environmental Education, Social, Health and Physical Education with optional
language and arts/pre-vocational subjects. And for the secondary (9th and 10th
grade) level, English, Nepali,
Mathematics, Science and Environmental Education, Social Education, Electives
(of 200) and extra electives with full marks of 700+100 was recommended. In
Sanskrit secondary education, a provision was made to take Sanskrit as an
optional subject of 200 full marks. For higher secondary education, five
streams were mentioned namely General, Vocational, Technical, poly-technical
and Sanskrit.
School Sector Reform Program (SSRP)
The School Sector Reform Program (SSRP) is
concerned with the implementation of the concept of integrated school system. It
is a concept that seeks to create institutional and individual accountability
for learning and inclusiveness at all levels of the school, looking at grades 1
to 12 holistically. Prior to this concept, Nepal's educational projects,
especially the Seti Education Project, Primary Education Project, Basic and
Primary Education Project: First and Second, Education for All, Secondary
Education Support Program etc., were conducted covering any one level, subject,
area and demand. Since 1990, Nepal's education system has gradually shifted
from project framework to program framework and then towards sectorial approach.
This program has been implemented in phases since 2009/10.
The School Sector Reform Program addresses
the challenges Nepal is facing in the education sector and the aspirations of
its citizens. It provides a basis for
activities such as increasing access and participation in education of
minority, poor and underprivileged groups, eliminating gender inequality,
increasing physical resources and facilities of schools, arranging for female
teachers in schools and improving school management and school institutions. This
program is seen as a means of combining the necessary policy changes and
affirmative action measures towards achieving education for all by 2015. This
program addresses issues such as integrated basic and secondary education,
ensuring inclusive participation in education, improving quality and relevance,
decentralized educational management, financial management, etc., and tries to
integrate different education options based on relevance, utility and values.
a. Major
Themes of SSRP
This program is a long-term strategic plan.
It
is believed to have been inspired and shaped by the Basic and Primary Education
Master Plan of 1997, Education for All: National Action Plan 2001-2015,
Secondary Education Support Program etc. The key points expressed in this
program are presented as follows:
-
Early childhood education
and development
-
Basic and secondary
education to increase access and promote equity and social inclusion
-
Literacy and life long
learning for all youths and adults within 15 to 49
-
Technical education and
vocational training for skill development and employment
-
Teacher preparation and
professional development
-
Capacity development of
implementing agencies
-
Monitoring and evaluation
of service delivery and management
-
Financing and need based
allocation of resources
-
Aid management on the
basis of result based management principles
The School Sector Reform Program (SSRP) has adopted the following
policies and strategies to deal with the above-mentioned issues and challenges:
a. Governance
and Management: Under this, changes in the
structure of school education, legal arrangements for the operation of
institutional (private) schools, school-based decentralized school management,
accountable school management for student learning, curriculum design, teacher
development, technical and professional education, higher education,
examination and evaluation and certification.
Technical works are included.
b. Quality: This includes aspects such as quality improvement
and control, curriculum assurance, curriculum and textbook arrangement,
educational process, teacher management and development, principal management
and development, certification and examination etc.
c. Equitable
access: Programs such as
the right to equitable education, social inclusion, inclusive school education,
positive discrimination and appropriate sharing of responsibilities are
included under this.
d. Financing: This program has given responsibility and
accountability for financial management to both central and local levels. Sharing investment in education in
partnership with the central and local governments, allocating up to 20% of the
national budget to education, 90% of the total budget of the education sector
will be allocated for schools and the remaining 10% for higher bodies. According to the multi-investment method, the
amount will be disbursed under the headings such as child development,
non-formal education scheme, salary allowances, incentives, etc. Financial arrangements such as ensuring
transparency and accountability in financial transactions, organizing audits
and strengthening monitoring arrangements have been clarified.
b. Implementation
Strategies of SSR Program
The implementation
of this program is arranged in the following four phases:
I.
Model building phase of basic education
II.
Basic education
reconstructing phase from management
III.
Model building phase of
Secondary Education
IV.
Secondary Education
reconstructing phase
According to the above-mentioned work
policy, the practice of model building will be started in the three districts
from the year 2007 and the restructuring of the basic level education of
classes 1-8 will be started from the academic session of 2010 and will be
completed by 2012. Similarly, there is a program to start the secondary level
model building work in 2009-10 and to start the restructuring of the secondary
level gradually from the academic session of 2012 and to complete it in 2015.
Monitoring and evaluation work
and its mechanism are also mentioned in the program. Teacher cost has been estimated separately
(1-5, 1-8, 1-10, 1-12, 9-12). Also, the
estimation of school area improvement expenses based on textbooks, operating
expenses, scholarships, physical infrastructure, etc. has been mentioned.
Post SSRP
After the completion of the
school sector reform program, the School Sector Development Program (SSDP) has
been introduced by continuing the successful activities of SSRP and
incorporating some new dimensions according to time and need.
After failing to meet the
international goal of Education for All by 2015, SSDP has been introduced as a
long-term plan to help it. The plan also includes disaster management, letter grading
system in SLC examination and new dimensions of federalism. It has also prepared a blueprint for
improving the tendency to repeat classes.
Currently, 96.6 percent of children have access to school education, but
their achievement is not improving. The plan
also seems to take the perspective of improving it. The program also includes
the goals of improving the quality of public schools, managing
head teacher by separately
advertising, implementing the technical stream of education from class 9, establishing large
and residential public schools, and emphasizing school governance.
Integrated Approaches to Education
a. Special Need Education
Every child is different and has different
interests, abilities, needs and wants. Such differences may also be seen in
their physical, mental, emotional nature and structure. Children
living in society who are different from normal children are called special
children. For such children, the educational environment available to normal
children is not sufficient. Therefore, special educational arrangements should
be made targeting children of such nature, which is called special education
program.
There is a growing concern of people, government
and international community regarding the educational rights of the disabled
children in these days. All nations in the world are being positive for
providing educational opportunity to the children with disabilities and Nepal
is no more exception. Nepal has also made some legal provisions to ensure
educational rights of special children. However, these efforts are not
sufficient until the date to provide access and quality of education to these
children.
The concept of providing education to the
disabled and making them able to survive in the society developed only lately. Slowly,
efforts were made to make people aware of the importance of special needs
education the rights of disabled children. Special education programs in Nepal
have only started in 2018 BS. Similarly, around year 2020 BS, American blind
volunteers came to Nepal to provide education with educational materials for
blind children. In 2021 BS, integrated education program for blind students was
conducted. Meanwhile, The school for the deaf was established in Bal Mandir.
Naxal in 1966 (2023 BS). The Nepal Blind and Disabled Association was
established on the initiative of Mr. Khagendra Basnet, who himself was
physically disabled. The Nirmal Child Development Centre was established in
1980 for the mentally disabled children. Systematic development in special needs
education was started with the launching of the National Education System Plan
in 1971. The Special Education Council was formed under the chair of the
Education Minister in 1973 (2030 BS) . All the programs of special education
started to be conducted by the Social Welfare National Coordination Council
after its establishment in 1977 (2034 BS). In addition to this, the High-level
National Education Committee (1998) report recommended that education for
children with special needs should be provided in disabled friendly educational
environment. For this purpose, the commission pointed out the need to survey
the population of disabled people, establishment of the schools, management of teachers,
formation of the school management committee, managing teacher-student ratio,
increasing disabled people's access to education, quality education, curriculum
and related materials, training, monitoring, building public awareness and
incorporating integrated programs (MOE, 1998).
The present policy of special education in
Nepal is the result of the endorsement and thrust of several international
provisions for education. If we look at the international level, as committed
by the UN convention on the rights of the children 1989, UN standard rules
1993, Salamanca conference 1994, Jomtien declaration 1990 and Dakar framework
for action, the Department of Education has implemented this program as a test
in 12 schools in 4 districts (Banke, Kavre, Udaypur and Sindhupalchok) from the
year 2000. In addition, special education
programs are being conducted in 210 schools in 22 districts so far. Currently,
children with all kinds of disabilities are benefiting from special education
programs from school level to university level. In Nepal, training in special
education has started in one year B.Ed. program. Likewise, Special education training has also
been started at the M. Ed. Level from 2072 BS.
b. Technical Education
I.
Introduction
Technical education refers to the academic
and vocational preparation of individuals with skills that involve the use of
practical approaches and other physical instruments in executing projects. It
prepares students for jobs involving applied science and modern technology. Technical
education plays an important role in nation building. This education is
different from general education. Technical education can be considered as the only way
to solve the growing unemployment problem of the world.
If we look at the development
of technical education in Nepal, the Basantpur Technical School in Kathmandu
established in 1987 BS can be considered as the first school of technical
education. Similarly, in 1919 BS the Overseer Training and in 1989 BS Juddha
Shamser established Agricultural School. Then, forest training was started in
2004 BS. Veterinary hospital was also established in the same year. Gradually various other technical schools such
as Nepal Government Ayurvedic School in 1985 BS, Medical School in 1990 BS, Art
School in 1991 BS and Fine Arts Campus in 2033 BS, were opened.
II.
Importance of technical
education
The need and importance of
technical education can be presented as follows:
-
By this, the
available means and resources can be used wisely
-
It helps the rapid
economic development of the country
-
The unemployment problem
can be solved
-
It empowers people
and helps them become self reliant
-
It can enhance
entrepreneurship and increase productivity
-
It provides trained
and skilled manpower for nation.
-
It makes life easier and
promote quality of life etc.
III.
Challenges of Technical Education
Some of the main challenges in providing
technical education are as follows:
-
Lack of investment
-
Lack of awareness about
financial self-reliance
-
Inadequate laboratories
and materials for training
-
Lack of trained manpower and qualified instructors
-
Lack of encouraging
perception of society towards technical education etc.
Possible solutions
·
Government should embark
on massive sensitisation of the public on the potentials of Vocational
Education in Nigeria.
·
Government should also
provide incentives to encourage youths to get technical training. Incentives
such as small loans for business setup upon graduation should be provided.
·
Adequate budgeting should
also be made for vocational education so there will be enough funds to provide
standard education.
·
Funds provided should
also be properly monitored and accounted for. This will prevent workers from
enriching themselves with money that is supposed to be used for development.
·
Standard facilities
should be provided.
·
Instructional Materials
and learning aids suitable for use should be provided. This includes textbooks
especially.
·
Instructors and teachers
of vocational education should be properly trained and should also have vast
experience so as to be able to teach students well.
·
Private investors and
corporate organisations need to be involved too by partnering with the
government to provide basic facilities and learning aids for students. Private
investors can even build more schools and training centres for vocational
education.
·
Government should do
their part in encouraging investors, especially those who want to build new
schools and vocational training centres. Heavy taxes should not be imposed as
this will drive them away.
·
Government should do
their part in encouraging investors, especially those who want to build new
schools and vocational training centres. Heavy taxes should not be imposed as
this will drive them away etc.
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