Swagat Shrestha

‘Need fusing science and technology with business’

Swagat Shrestha is the Chairperson of Higher Secondary School’s Association of Nepal’s Kathmandu Chapter (HISSAN KTM). Sweta Sharma of The Corporate Weekly talked with Shrestha about overall education system of Nepal, its reforms, problems and challenges. Excerpts:


How do you evaluate the present education system of Nepal?

Education system of Nepal has improved in a satisfactory way. There have been improvements in courses and vocational and business education are introduced in government schools and colleges.


Comparing with the last year, SLC pass percentage is quite low this year. What do you think might be the reason behind it?

The government has allocated 17 per cent of budget for education. Looking at this, the SLC pass percentage is quite discouraging. This is an issue to be considered seriously. In cities like Kathmandu, we do have 80-90 pass percentages. But the government schools mainly those of out of valley have only 10- 12 pass percentage. Earlier, many schools openly helped students cheat in SLC exams. This year, the examination was very strict, and the papers were also evaluated strictly which might have caused this decline.


One of Nepal’s Millennium Development Goals is to have 100 per cent enrollment in primary school. To what extent do you think it would be possible?

These days, people are quite aware of the importance of education and literacy. Especially in villages, more and more people are being aware about education and we must thank political parties for this as they keep visiting villages for various awareness programmes. This has led to expect some good changes in education sector and I do think there is the possibility of educating a huge portion of the population.


What major reforms do you think are necessary for Nepal’s education system?

The education system of Nepal is city-oriented as must of educational institutions are located in the major cities. Private sector is basically surviving on its own and they have the inclination towards staying where they see good business possibility. It is government’s responsibility to provide education free of cost but instead there is impractical policy that requires educational institutions to pay VAT like tax to the government.

But above all, the major problem of Nepal is political instability and it has affected almost every sector. Every sector is politicized and education sector is also affected largely. Also, we are copying the foreign curriculum and that cannot always be relevant for us. The education system should rather be based on our country’s need and demand. People need to set an example by contributing in Nepal so that the future generations too could be encouraged to stay in Nepal. And if the government educational institutions could provide better education, then the private ones can gradually phase out.


Government has failed in creating satisfactory long term education policies. What are your comments on this?

This is all due to unstable government. The frequent change in government is affecting policies to sustain in the long term. Reforms, policies, rules and regulations get changed with the change of government. Even though the policies are good, it definitely will be changed with new government, and it is so frequent. Still we can hope for positive changes in educational sector as there are possibilities.


What is your suggestion to keep education sector free from political intervention?

The unhealthy competition among major political parties has brought this problem of intervention in every sector request all the major political parties to leave at least the schools free from politics. The political parties should point out the weakness of private educational institutions and we are ready to do our best to overcome those weaknesses. This will help to run the education sector more peacefully.


Students seem to be more attracted towards A-level courses in the recent days. Why is +2 education gradually losing the attraction?

I disagree to this because more number of students are still attracted to +2 colleges. A-level course is of international standard and is also quite expensive. I think A-level degree is not suitable for Nepal. The majority of the students are in +2 colleges rathen than in A-level colleges. Yes, I do agree that the courses are quite advanced in A-level, but it also has its own problems.


It is quite confusing to choose good educational institutions. What do you suggest to the students and guardians?

Distance matters a lot, so it is better to choose those institutions which are quite near to your residence as it would consume less time. There should be enough information about the people who are running the institutions. Educationists can run the institutions well and they will be more inclined towards providing better education. Results of past few years should also be taken into consideration. In addition, the institutions should possess basic infrastructure and facilities where students could find an environment to boost their abilities. If these parameters are considered, it will be relatively easier to select a good school or college.


What unique characteristics do you think your institution Kathmandu Valley College (KVC) possesses when compared to the other colleges?

We have daily evaluation system where every student is supposed to appear in test at the end of the day. In this regard, I can say that our evaluation system is unique. We organize seminars and presentations every Friday to boost the students’ communication and presentation skills. We are also focused on promoting our culture. We also provide ‘Joyful Parenting Training’ where parents and students can interact with each other properly to understand each other’s point of view. We also provide job placement trainings to the students. Broadly speaking, we provide our students with reality based education.


What new programs are you going to introduce in near future which you think will be beneficial to boost the education system of Nepal?

We are going to provide professional computer training to students and we will also certify it. In coming year, we are adding BBA and MBA level according to the demand of students and the market. But our college is more focused on science and technology which is very important for Nepal’s development. We need fusing science and technology with business. This will help to increase the value of products and it ultimately will help to boost Nepal’s economy as well. It also will make our education system more advanced.