When the question of the educational quality of public schools arises, one question that comes up is, ‘there must be a rule that mandates the children of government employees, people’s representatives and teachers to study in government schools. Only then the quality of public schools will improve.’
Citizens fed up with the poor quality of public schools in Nepal, and leaders eager to politicize any issue, raised their concerns. Their main argument is that if children of government employees attend private schools, due attention will not be given to improving the quality of public education.
Raising these issues at the municipality and rural municipality levels has become normal. Debates on such matters are also taking place in the Parliament and the Parliamentary Committees. It is argued that the only way to improve the quality of public schools, especially in rural areas with low education standards, is to enforce a rule stating that the children of political leaders, bureaucrats and teachers should be taught in public schools.
In the year 2074, as the local level had just started making laws, discussions arose regarding the improvement of educational standards in public schools at the local level and different methods were deliberated. However, such proposed policies failed due to a lack of thorough research into the background and long-term impacts. Further, such shortcomings were only used to gather media attention for populist agendas, typically spanning 2-4 days around the year 2075.
This is not an isolated issue, as it has been raised in various locations across the nation, with the local governments taking tangible actions. In Chaitra 2075, Rupa Rural Municipality in Kaski adopted a policy to educate the children of government school principals, teachers, chairpersons of school management committee, all the representatives of the municipal level and government employees in public schools. It was implemented with the goal to establish Rupa Rural Municipality as a model educational hub of the country fostering public trust in community schools. Likewise, in Chaitra 2075 Darma Rural Municipality in Salyan decided that people’s representatives and government employees must send their children to public schools.
In Jestha 2075, the government employees of Maijogmai Rural Municipality in Illam passed the regulation that their children must be taught in public schools. It was also mentioned in the regulation that if public service officials, serving employees, teachers etc. do not enroll their children in public schools, 3 percent of their salary will be deducted. This provision was included in the education regulations to improve the educational quality of public schools and increase the number of students. Besides, many other municipalities had announced to make such rules. It was surprising that all the municipalities which made such a decision had a common reason: this rule was made to improve the quality of public schools.
Now, it begs the question: Does the educational quality of public schools increase when public service officials, employees, teachers, etc. enroll their children in public schools? Do all the problems get solved if teachers, public representatives and employees teach their children in public schools? Or is the deterioration of the educational quality due to this sole reason. Of course there are other reasons too, but they have not been studied. Perhaps, prior to making this rule, none of the municipalities had studied the reasons behind the low educational quality of public schools. Had they conducted thorough research, the outcome would not have been just this one reason and the one solution. Further, none of the studies provided references when municipalities made these decisions.
It becomes imperative now to discuss the failed attempt of such measures. As per the decision of executive of Gurans rural municipality Dailekh on 25th Chaitra, 2075, it was decided that the teachers of all public schools could not enroll their children in to private schools. Accordingly, three teachers of Gurans Rural Municipality were punished with a fine of 10,000 rupees. This was done to improve the quality of public schools in its area and to create an environment of trust towards public schools.
Then in 2077, the case reached the Surkhet High Court where the court gave an interim order not to execute it. On Mangsir 10, 2077, it was ordered to cancel the said decision on the grounds that it was not specified under which law the rural municipality made this decision. Further, it was determined that the rural municipality had made the decision in a manner that infringes upon the fundamental rights of its citizens, namely the right to education guaranteed by the constitution.
As stated in the court’s order, “’in the rural municipality’s written reply, it was seen that the decision was taken to make the public school accountable under the authority in accordance with Section 11 (2) (h) of the Local Governance Operation Act, 2074, and improving the quality of the public school imposing fines for sending children to private schools are two separate issues”. Despite the argument that the responsibility of improving the quality of public schools lies with the local government and the decision was made for the same purpose, there is no situation in which the bodies incorporated according to the law can make decisions beyond the authority granted by the law.
While one municipality has made such a decision and the court has annulled it, currently, other municipalities are also making similar decisions for populist reasons.
It was reported in the news media that the majority of parliamentarians were in favor of mandating the children of government service beneficiaries to be educated in public schools. In the theoretical discussion in the School Education Bill in the Education, Health and Technology Committee, a parliamentarian asserted that the country’s education would improve only if a mandatory law is made requiring the children of government service beneficiaries to be educated in public schools.
While the debate continues in the parliament, some municipalities are taking action on this issue. Recently, Sindhuli’s Kamalamai Municipality decided to mandate that the children of people’s representatives and bureaucrats must attend public schools starting from the next academic session.
Similarly, Abukhaireni Rural Municipality in Tanahun has decided to enforce mandatory enrollment in public schools to support the education improvement campaign of the public schools. Following the meeting of the public schools principals, it was decided that all the teachers and school employees working within the rural municipality will have their children taught in the public schools. In Gulmi’s Musikot Municipality, it has been mandated that the children of government employees and people’s representatives must study in public schools from the next academic session.
While in many countries, there is a rule that the children of government employees and people’s representatives must be educated in government schools, where the educational quality is usually good. However, in Nepal and other nations, although these issues are debated, policies are not effectively implemented.
Another important aspect is the quality of education. When the educational quality is good, there is no need for regulations. Few would opt to send their children to a private school by paying extra fees, when they could get free quality education in public schools.
The Surkhet High Court, in overturning the decision made by Gurans Rural Municipality in Dailekh,, stated in its judgment that education is a fundamental right guaranteed by the constitution. Therefore, the quality of public schools and the imposition of fines for sending children to private schools are two separate issues. It is clear that such a policy is in violation of human rights, personal freedom and children’s rights.
A teacher may find it difficult to provide for their students with the desired education solely because they are employed in a public school. Where one chooses to invest in quality education for their children is a matter of personal concerns for them, and not the government’s. It is certainly not feasible for the government to dictate to individuals where they should send their children to study.
The responsibilities, duties and rights of government employees certainly do not extend to such matters. If one works for the government, they will get the fair compensation of their labor. It is not obligatory to accept everything the government says simply because one holds a government position; in fact, such an expectation is impractical. The arguments that public school teachers need to enroll their children in public schools, or for people working in government hospitals treating their families in public hospital are absurd.
There are many problems with the quality of public schools that require thorough studies determining the root causes of the problems. It is important then to work to solve these issues while ensuring that the fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution are upheld for all citizens. Efforts should be focused on fostering discussions to make the educational quality of public schools effective. But it is a waste of time to argue that the problem will be solved if everyone involved in the government authorities send their children to public schools. Let’s create an environment where everyone enrolls in public schools spontaneously.
This article was published originally on Setopati.com in Nepali Language.