Spot Light Weekly English Magazine VOL. 03, NO. 05, Aug 01, 2009 (Shrawan 17 ) In terms of monthly bills, 10+2 education costs far more than its counterpart Proficiency Certificate Level (PCL) of Tribhuwan University (TU). Yet the choice of an overwhelming number of high school graduates is 10+2. Since the opening of education to private investment and the introduction of 10+2 as higher secondary level in 1991, these institutions have grown in number by leaps and bounds. The competition has gotten so stiff that they need a sustained promotional campaign to lure students. This year, however, their prospects are better because the biggest pie is up for grab. Out of the 256,489 graduates, the highest number of students getting past School Leaving Certificate (SLC) exams in a year, more than 200,000 are expected to join class-11, rather than the old PCL. In the midst of reigning anarchy, disorder and frustration in the country, the +2’s have at least something to cheer for. By KESHAB POUDEL If advertisements in daily newspapers, FM radio stations and television channels indicate anything, it is this: 10+2 schools are major providers of higher education in Nepal. They promise quality teaching and stimulating learning environment for students eager to pursue studies beyond high school. The higher secondary schools started their promotional campaign to attract students a month ago, as soon as the results of the School Leaving Certificate (SLC) exams were out. The colourful ads stand as a testimony that Nepal has not lost all hopes, despite reigning uncertainties in economy, politics and law and order. According to the Higher Secondary Education Board (HSEB), more than 72 per cent of this year’s SLC graduates have joined grade 11 classes. The board expects the figure, that is, the share of student intake for +2 schools, will reach as high as 80 per cent. Although the Tribhuwan University (TU) still runs the old Proficiency Certificate Level (PCL), providing a massive subsidy for students, the programme is gradually losing its relevance in both local and international contexts. “The higher secondary system has transformed the whole education scenario in Nepal, offering the most competitive and quality education to students,” says Dr. Tirtha Khaniya, a member of the National Planning Commission and the former vice chairman of HSEB (1996-2000). “Over 90 per cent of MBBS, engineering, business and management graduates today are the products of the higher secondary system. The 10+2 has been a catalyst in all this transformation.” The present state of education is not a result of a sudden decision. It took more than a decade for things to really change. Many people may have forgotten the particular individual who pushed for these changes in higher education system. Govinda Raj Joshi, the education minister between 1991 and 1995, introduced drastic changes in the education sector, including the 10+2 schools. He proposed a number of amendments in the existing acts, which ultimately took the 10+2 to the present shape. Dr. Khaniya, as the vice chairman of the higher secondary board, implemented the plans in making the higher education sector competitive and attractive for high school graduates. “One of the important aspects of the 10+2 education is that it solely relies on private investments. Even in the rural areas, local communities have been supporting the 10+2,” says Dr. Khaniya. Nepali Congress leader Joshi has a reason to be happy despite the many ups and downs he saw in his political life. The decisions he took fourteen years ago as the education minister, convincing politicians and bureaucrats on the merits of the system, have not been futile. “My colleagues tried to prevent me from opening up education to the private sector,” Joshi recalls. “Some even accused me of selling education and weakening our party’s hold among the youth at the university.” In the beginning, there were only two dozens of higher secondary schools in the country and they were mostly unknown. The number of 10+2 schools now stands at 2000, according to HSEB. “It will increase this year,” says Minister for Education Ramchandra Kusbaha. The higher secondary level of education assumes great significance because it is here that students, after ten years of general education, diversify towards their chosen areas of future specialisation. At this level, students are supposed to be developing independent thinking. “They are better placed to exercise a choice in terms of the course they want to pursue, keeping in view their needs, interests, capabilities and aptitudes, which would enable them to cope with the challenges of the future. They may, therefore, choose either specialized academic courses or job-oriented vocational courses. For a majority of students, the higher secondary stage may be the end of their formal education leading to the world of work,” say experts. Although most schools are concentrated in urban areas and district headquarters, the 10+2 institutions are reaching to the remote parts of Nepal too. HSEB has been making efforts to take the 10+2 education to the doorsteps of the rural people. “Although we introduced 10+2 with an aim to provide rural populations with access to higher secondary education, this is yet to happen in several parts of the country,” Dr. Khaniya says. “It is time to give a fresh push to take 10+2 schools to the remote parts.” The government initiated the process towards launching of the higher secondary system far back in 1989 by introducing the Higher Secondary Education Act. “Preparations took almost 3 years and in 1992, some 38 higher secondary schools came into existence. The Eighth Five-Year Plan had envisaged 125 higher secondary schools by 1997. Today the number of higher secondary schools is 1018 (mathi 2000 chha). After the introduction of higher secondary education, several exercises were carried out to make this sub-sector more quality-oriented and more unified say experts. One of the interesting trends of the 10+2 education is that an overwhelming numbers of students prefer science and management. This is contributing to the increase in the number of engineering, medical and management colleges in the private sector. “Our 10+2 produces the best management students. We are the first choice among all the students in management,” says Narabahadur Bista, principal of Global College of Management. “Half of our higher secondary graduates study BBA and CA in Nepal and the rest go for higher education in America, Australia and Europe.” Two processes, phasing-in and phasing-out, are running in parallel as regards providing the intermediate level education in the country. In a way, the Plus Two education can be obtained from University campuses and from higher secondary schools, with two separate curricula, despite the similarity in their goal. “Tired by petty politics in TU’s colleges, students and parents prefer private 10+2 colleges since there is no room for politics in these institutions. Classes run here with fewer interruptions than in TU colleges,” says Krishna Kanta Parajuli, principal of Canvas International College. “Our college offers science, management and humanities at grades 11 and 12.” The quantitative growth of higher secondary schools has been impressive. But the quality gap between the private and public schools is growing and time has come to introduce mitigation measures to end the discrepancy. “HSEB is now making efforts to end this discrepancy,” says the vice chairman of HSEB. After its success in providing quality education and producing competent students, 10+2 has enthused the Nepali society in at least this one front. While anarchy and disorder are continuing to find a foothold in all spheres of life, a major question before HSEB is how to sustain the success.