Culture Of Violence Must End

Yuba Nath Lamsal
A few incidents took place over the last couple of weeks in the capital and elsewhere in the country invited disdain from many who have been closely watching the education sector. Let us put some of the selected events at random. Firstly, temporary teachers in schools took to the streets demanding their immediate permanent status without completing any open competitive procedures. The spokesman at the Ministry of Education and Sports responded that necessary measures would soon to be taken to make all the temporary teachers permanent in which the outsiders would not be allowed to compete. Secondly, part-time teachers of the Tribhuvan University, the oldest and the largest university in Nepal, also used the pressure tactics that included relay hunger strikes. Their sole demand was to turn their service into a full-time or permanent status. On this case as well, the government announced that the part-timers would soon be full-timers. Thirdly, soon after the decision of the government regarding the demands of the part-time teachers, students in the Tribhuvan University protested against the decision and even vandalized the offices of the university claiming that the decision would diminish the quality of education. Fourthly, the graduates of the Council of Technical and Vocational Education (CTEVT) protested in the streets for several days pressing the government for recognizing their degree at par with the university graduates. In this case too, the government gave in and met their demands.Pressure TacticsThese are a few random cases to mention. After the success of the Jana Andolan II, a floodgate of pressure tactics has suddenly opened in various sectors seeking to fulfill their demands?both genuine and otherwise. Democracy does provide every one with the rights to protest and express grievances. The protest strategies may be appropriate in politics but not in the education sector. The sole purpose of education is to create qualified and skilled human resource through academic competition and excellence. But tendencies seeking to fulfill their demands through pressure and protest only damage the reputation of education. Moreover the way the government responded and gave in to the pressure in the education sector has also encouraged the scrupulous people to benefit from fishing in the muddy waters. This has been a regular phenomenon at a time of every political transition in which education sector has suffered the most.Now let us analyse these issues separately. On the issue concerning the demands of the temporary teachers and part-time teachers, it is their democratic right to protest and even demand what they want. But those who are pursuing academic activities, such strategy and demand do not suit them at all. Teachers, be it permanent or temporary and part-timers or full-timers, are to teach the students to practice competitive procedures to achieve academic excellence. If the case of the teachers? demand is to be taken as a standard, it is likely to create academic indiscipline and chaos in the education sector. If teachers are made permanent and full-timers just on the basis of the protests and pressure without any competitive examination or completing other accepted norms, it would only make a mockery of our education system. We can just pity them. What if the students, following the footsteps of their esteemed teachers, also demand degrees without examinations? Do the teachers have any justifiable answer?Instead, teachers should have demanded the competitive examinations in which all could contest freely and those who prove their excellence in competitive examination should be made permanent. Those who are imparting knowledge should guide others. When the teachers set bad precedents, other sectors would follow suit. This can be evidenced by the vandalism and arson resorted by the students to fulfill their demands. These permanent teachers and part-timers entered into the service on the basis of their link with parties or politicians in power and political ideology but not on the basis of any competitive procedure. Thus, they want the same flawed procedure to be permanent. You reap what you sow. Since teachers engage themselves in hostile and unbecoming activities, the end result can easily be predicted. Teachers are the role model for students and others in the society. Teachers have sown the seed of violence and country is reaping its yields. The culture of violence that we have witnessed in the country is the product of this trend, which has not spared the education sector, as well. Politics is an ugly game when it comes to education. Violence, conflict and partisan interest must be shunned if we are to develop education in purely academic and professional way. However, Nepal?s education sector is the first target of politicians and political parties to accomplish their partisan interests. Teachers act more like agents of political parties rather than truly professional knowledge providers whereas the political parties treat the educational institutions as the grooming ground for their cadres. Out of power, parties and politicians preach independence and autonomy in the education sector for academic excellence. Once they are in power, they forget their earlier promises and turn these institutions into recruiting centres for getting the party workers and supporters. The poor performance of our education system is, thus, attributed to this culture of violence and heavy politicization and political interference. This is evident from the poor performance of the public sector and better and more qualitative performance of the private sector. Be it SLC results or higher education, private schools, colleges and universities have excelled far more than the public sector institutions. It is so because politics is at bay in the private sector. The poor performance in the public sector education has been a waste of national resources as the government and donors have poured in a huge fund for the development of education. If our education is to be developed in the desired manner, reform should start from the mentality of the planners, policy makers and the politicians. GoalThere must be a national consensus on education policy, which could not be altered at the change of the government. Our education sector has suffered in the absence of the lack of permanent policy and common vision of the political actors of the country. Managing education sector is the business of academics, professionals and experts and the politicians and their henchmen must stop meddling in it. All political forces of the country must realize it and act accordingly. Only then the nation would achieve the goal it has set in the education sector. Otherwise, Nepal?s promise to achieve the millennium development goal by 2015 would remain a far cry.

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