NIRJANA SHARMA

While government authorities blame teachers for the failure of community schools to achieve good results in exams, the teachers, on the occasion of World Teachers´ Day, criticize the government for its reluctance to address the major hurdles in their profession.

According to a flash release from the Ministry of Education (MoE) this year, 26.9 percent of all teachers in grades 9 to 12 have not received any kind of teacher training.

The release shows that 66.9 percent of teachers have undergone training while 6.2 percent have received partial training.

Contrary to the government policy of including at least 33 percent female teachers in the teaching profession, women account for only 14 percent, the flash release shows.

Of the total 37,480 secondary teachers, only 5,525 are female.

Every year on October 5, World Teachers´ Day is observed to highlight the importance of skilled, qualified and well-trained teachers for society. This year´s international slogan for teachers has urged the government to introduce an effective training program for teachers.

All Nepal Teachers Union President Guna Raj Lohani said that the government´s reluctance to mainstream the various categories of teachers is responsible for the failure to uplift the status of teachers or improve the learning process at community schools. A total of 275,000 teachers in 17 categories are currently deployed under MoE.

Lack of any post-conflict policy to encourage qualified teachers through training programs and the ineffectiveness of the rewards and punishment system has meant that there has been no progress in the teaching and learning process in the classroom.

“The government has never recognized the contribution of teachers who served in remote places even under threat to life and limb,” said Lohani.

Another problem of community school teachers is that more than 13,000 of them have been in temporary service under MoE for over a decade. Many of them have served for more than 20 years.

After phase-wise protests, MoE in March 2012 had agreed to resolve the issue through an amendment to the Education Act 1971.

However, their future remains uncertain following the dissolution of parliament on May 28 last year before the law could be amended.

 Educationists say that MoE should pressure the interim government to amend the law through ordinance.

However, an ordinance to effect the amendment has failed to materialise.

“The government is hampering the entire education system by paying no heed to seeing the amendment through,” says educationist Mana Prasad Wagle.

Similarly, lack of implementation of a rewards and punishment system for teachers on the basis of work evaluation has freed teachers to involve themselves in political activities, says educationist Kedar Bhakta Mathema.

Meanwhile, MoE Spokesperson Mahashram Sharma said that a skill development program for teachers is being prepared to make the classroom more interactive.

Published on: 6 October 2013 | Republica