The Current Struggle for Universal Education in Nepal

March 8, 2009




























The Maoists’ plan to put all children in public schools by 2010 came a little closer to realization this week.

All private and boarding schools were closed due to a strike created by teachers affiliated with the pro-Maoist Institutional School Teachers Union (ISTU).

The ongoing struggle between private and public school systems made headlines last November, when Finance Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai declared that the new government intended to cease private investment in education by 2010.

Many analysts have found the plan overly ambitious and unrealistic. According to the Ministry of Education, private schools account for nearly one-third of the country’s 41,000 schools and, given the shoddy infrastructure of the existing public school network, one wonders how such a dramatic transition could be actualized in 24 months.

There is also the question: To what extent would the nationwide quality of education be jeopardized?  As is stands now, the passing rate of public school students is woefully substandard. 82 % of private school students pass the School Leaving Certificate exam, while only 36% of public school students can claim the same.  Private schools also focus much more on learning English as a second language, which gives students a leg up in global interaction and the competitive scramble for higher paying jobs.

Suprabhat Bhandari, president of Nepal Guardian’s Association, (cited in a November Christian Science Monitor article), characterized Dr. Bhattarai’s announcement as ludicrous: “Is the state intending to produce a mediocre manpower in the name of equality? And how will the state ensure that Nepalese children who do their schooling outside Nepal are not more competent than those who study in the public schools here?”

The controversy is obviously a basic human rights issue. The right for every Nepali child to have a good education is not only a noble one, but a necessary one if Nepalis ever hope to compete with the 21st century world surrounding them. The Maoist distaste for private schools pivots on the desire to level the playing field between those families who can afford private schools and those who cannot. Leveling the playing field is one thing; lowering the playing field is quite another.


Can a government achieve high-level universal education by paralyzing those schools that are actually achieving levels of excellence? This is precisely what the ISTU seems intent on doing. The union’s demand is that all teachers should receive equal salary and facilities, good schools and superior teachers be damned. One of the main reasons why public school standards have deteriorated in the United States is because teachers have become complacent in tenure. In reaction to this, there is an American groundswell of Charter Schools, where administrations have more say in their curricula and the teachers are rewarded for excellence, not simply because they are there.



Meanwhile, the Private and Boarding School Association of Nepal (PABSON) has called upon its members to refuse to pay the 5% tax the new government has recently imposed on private schools on the grounds that it is unjust and that it unduly punishes the very schools that are achieving the most in contemporary Nepal. They point out that they have already been allocating scholarships to underprivileged students in 10% of seats and have been paying 25% as income tax and have been paying other taxes as per the law. At stake are some 2 million students enrolled in private schools, as well as 175, 000 teachers and staff.

Dr. Bhattarai responded to PABSON’s protest by warning that those schools failing to pay the tax will face the music in two weeks’ time, when private school students in PABSON’s network will be prevented from sitting for their examinations of the School Living Certificate.

Is punishing students who have worked hard in preparation for exams really the best way to ensure improved education in Nepal? Is that what the country really wants?


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