Interaction with Former Vice-Chancellor Kedar Bhakta Mathema on Education Reform
His Excellency Mr. Keday Bhakta Mathema
Mr. Mathema thanked FIPMO for inviting him and started the talk stating that he was not an education expert per se, but he had prepared some reports for systematizing and strengthening the schools system in Nepal. He provided some analytical statements comparing the education system in developed countries vis-à-vis the same in Nepal. The culture of University education goes back to 1096 in Oxford and 1209 in Cambridge but the Tribhuvan University was almost a recent phenomenon. He concluded that the some 95 % of the children never dream to go to universities in Nepal. However, since last one decade or so, there has been mushroom growth of schools, colleges and few Universities as well. Most of them are in the private sector and their school education system should be considered better in comparison to Public Schools that are dying whereas the Public School System should have been qualitatively upgraded and strengthened. However, the teachers in the public schools are rather trained and professionals in comparison to private schools that have less trained teachers. However, the zeal and enthusiasm in the private school teachers are much better due to the salary scale and other facilities they enjoy in comparison to the public school teachers. For above reasons the private school teachers are rather dedicated.
He also mentioned some statistics about the enrollment of students in private and public schools and concluded that the only way to provide equal opportunities to children of all groups of population at all levels of education would be to support and upgrade the public school system in Nepal. If the public schools have high education standard, affordable, preferred and equally accessible and available to all in many other countries of the world why cannot Nepal see that the same would be the best way for the country to go to for making the future generation well educated and prepared. A lot of this has to do with the government system in the country that
