आय प्रिया खाडी मा मेरा आँशु सुकाउन

दुनिया का लोग्ने आउदा चमेली को तेल मगमग बासायो
जाबो फरिया किन्न नसक्ने लाक्षि बनेर
कति बसु भनि
आय प्रिया खाडी मा मेरा आँशु सुकाउन ।

बिहानै भकारो सोहोरेर एक गाग्री पानी ल्याउदा
तिमी उठेर दैलो पोत्दै हुन्थ्यौ

म अगेनोको अगुल्ठो ठोस्दै चिया पकाउथे
चिनी छैन भन्दा म नालायक हुन्थे,
 खर्च पनि जोहो गर्न नसक्ने नाथे हुन्थे

गाउँ का शिकारी ले म्रिग मारेर भाग लगाउदा
दुई पाउ चोक्टा ले पत्यायन
भुमेथान मा पूजा हुँदा
पाजी मेरो के हैसियत खिर खाने
घर की श्वास्नी छोड्न नसक्ने
जोइटिङ्रे भयर बस्न सकिन
आय प्रिया खाडी मा मेरा आँशु सुकाउन ।

Psycho-Social Impact of Nepal Earthquake’15 on Children and Role of Teacher

Abstract

Nepal was hit by devastating earthquake in April 25, 2015 at 11:56 am local time with 7.8 magnitude and continuously smash by hundreds aftershocks. Nepal Government declared emergency in fourteen highly affected districts and almost all schools were closed. Teachers are the major living manpower in remote where the presence of government is negligible. So here this article is trying to focus   the effect of earthquake to children and role of teachers to support those affected children and their families. 

(Published in http://www.american-journals.com/copy-of-june-2016)

Dreams of Colors Under Confusion

Dreams change their tracks according to circumstances. It differs at times when there are seniors to guide you or when you are with your friends. I recall my teen years. I enjoyed going to school but a new cinema hall in my hometown always caught my attention. However, I seldom bunked my lessons despite the cinema’s influence on me. I frequented that cinema hall and enjoyed watching those Hindi and Nepali movies with my friends. On the way to the hall, my friends often hide their bags in the jungle, amidst the woods. They were stolen or wet because of rain when my friends looked for their bags later on. But, this was never the case with me. They used to get punished for it. I now miss the joy of it all. In hindsight, my dreams too have changed their tracks and have constantly redefined “success”. I started to believe that every moment grows on its own pace and that the dreams we think of along the way encourage us to achieve our own goals as Mark Twain said, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover.”

I love to see the dreams of the little girls of Saipal being fulfilled during their stay here. When I see girls being brought to Saipal in grade five by their parents in hopes of a bright future, I myself am reminded of my childhood. I am reminded of my dreams. Sometimes, I see girls here with innocent and guilty smiles across their faces, when they are found making some petty mistakes like passing chicken soup or noodles powder during supper or while being extremely excited to go to Narayanthan expecting momos. While some other times, I see these girls crying by the phone booth with their parents on the other end of the phone, about how they couldn’t do well on a test. I am most confused when sometimes I overhear girls talking about some boys “who try to talk to them about something” and when suddenly, with their cheeks blushing, they change the topic of their discussion upon seeing a teacher or a senior nearby. I am surprised to see these young girls become so serious. Why is it that they’re afraid to do what they want to do wholeheartedly? It is human nature to do these kinds of things. No matter how wrong or unethical, it is still natural to want to do these things. I believe that your happiness cannot be paid by millions of rules or punishments as a Chinese proverb says “When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a bread with one, and a lily with the other.” I believe that you can manage to do both of these in your life.

As Carl Jung said, “There are many nights as days, and the one is just as long as the other on the year’s course. Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness and the word ‘happy’ would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness.” Every sadness or problem or suffering will bring you a colorful lily because as every coin has two sides, life too has happiness and sadness. Everybody has their own story to share, their own emotions to feel and their own happiness to internalize. Believe in yourself and try to achieve your goals. Recognize your strengths and weaknesses and search and see the horizon of progress. As Buddha said,"If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change”. This flower is in you. Believe in it.“Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact”as Henry James said. Your anger, forgiveness, compassion, fear, love, attachment, everything exist but it is your turn to believe, trust and act to make it a fact and a habit

Written on 2015 March and Published in "Platinum, house magazine of Saipal House"

Education in Developing Countries:In the context of Nepal

Abstract: Since 1952, Nepalese people have access in formal education and it is systematized in 1971 as “Nepal Educational Planning commission” which has been in function with several amendments. It is about 40 years that guide our education system. Nepal faces 60 governments with in these sixty years so that focus of people is in governing system. Because of globalization, we are facing both positive and negative impacts in education. These days, people want readymade educational organs like curriculum, goals, teaching strategies etc instead of building and improving their education system according to their necessities. It is very shameful that our educational planning is guided by foreign donor agencies on their interest most probably as an educational lab. In this context here I am going to focus on the main problems in our education system with few remedies. 

Main Obstacles: 

1. Access in Education. 

a. Cannot go to school Among 676,583 boys and 713,629 girls of ages 4-6 who should join pre-primary school, have only 63.4% enrolment in school. 

 b. Drop out/Repeat/fail Only 20.8% students reach in grade 10 who enrolled in primary class, among them about 50% pass school Level Certificate (Grade 10). Only 2% among admitted can get master degree.

 2. Generate unemployed manpower 

Only 2.7% illiterate people are unemployed but more that 10% school level graduated people are unemployed and it is increasing according to their academic level because educated people are not ready to do physical work.

 3. Manpower production for foreign countries

 Nepal cannot stop educated people to go abroad either they go in the name of education or immigration or work even though government scholarship students like high skill as in medical or engineering etc are not also work in the country easily. Nepal invests them but its advantages are taken by developed countries.

 4. Different types of educational products 

 We have altogether 27 types of schools for the same kind of children. Mainly these are in two categories: community base and institutionalize. On the first category, many subcategories falls like funded by INGOs, Trusts etc and in second category private schools. All schools have same curriculum but vast difference in skilled teacher and in other resources. Because of that, different types of students participate on the same exam in SLC (Grade 10) nationwide.

 5. Free Education

 In the constitution, education is written in basic need but it is not in practice. Government directly does not charge the fees in school (less that 11 grade) but schools charges students in different names. Private schools’ fees are really terrible. One interesting fact that Tribhuvan University Master degree course’s fee is cheaper than grade one students’ fee in private school. Middle class people have no alternative to send their children in private school because quality of education in community base government schools is going very low.

 6. Investment in Education 

 Total investment by Nepal government in education is as follows whose most of the share is for salary and other day to day expenses. Because of fewer budgets, ministry cannot focus on other developmental works.   

 Remedies:

a. Can convince children and their parents about the importance of education and can open many schools nearby village.

b. Can review in examination system to decrease failure/dropout rate and give alternatives if children do not entertain on particular subject.

c. Focus on vocational education, technical education and demand wise man power production to decrease the unemployment rate.

d. Fix the lowest boundary of students’ out come and teachers’ performance.

e. Education must be free for all.

Programs:

a. In Dakar convention-2002, Nepal signed in “Education for all” and already in function as interim planning to fulfill this goal.

b. Just two year before, government started “School Sector Reform Project (SSRP)”

c. Admission campaign is going on in different schools in primary level.

d. Girls, Indigenous children, marginalized children are getting some money as scholarship so that they can afford stationary items.

e. Early childhood classes are started in different schools as model.

Education for sustainable development 

We are giving food instead of skill to produce rice. Education paralyzed whole agronomy. Agriculture is least chosen profession and no other well-known profession in production area. Most of the educated manpower is used in teaching and administration. In one side, agronomy cannot uplift because of the lack of trained manpower and other side educated people are unemployed. I, in a group of teachers, am starting a campaign to aware people about education and sustainable development. We have a dream to open one model school where children learn skill and produce something to sustain them. So we focus education with some skill.


According to UNESCO, 

• What if every person benefited from an education promoting development that is environmentally sound, socially equitable, culturally sensitive and economically just? 

• What if learning was about knowledge and also about doing, being, interacting with others and changing the world? 

• What if every person benefited from genuine learning opportunities throughout life, in the workplace, and within the community? I have some concerns: - Does education need to give skills for better and happy life in local context? - Can’t we teach children in farm house or elsewhere in their workplace? - If other concern bodies do not provide sufficient resources then children have to go for that. Does education guide towards it in developing countries? - Can’t we join our schools with market, land and education? 

References: 

1. Flash report of education department(2007-08) 

2. Statistical year book of Nepal (2007)

3. Education For all and secondary education support program, status report-2005 

4. Statistical pocket book Nepal 2006 Governmental of Nepal National planning commission secretariat control Bureau of statistics. 

5. http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/leading-the-international-agenda/education-for-sustainable-development/

(Also Published in http://www.nepaleseteacher.org/2012/06/education-in-developing-countries-in.html)