--By Gopal Sangroula

 

The School Sector Reform Plan (SSRP), which aimed to reform the school education system, is trailing out without making any significant progress. The five-year ambitious project aimed at reforming curriculum, management and examination system in order to bring about structural changes in the education system.  Fifteen donor agencies including World Bank, Asian Development Bank, UNESCO, UNDP and USAID have been supporting the SSRP. 

 

SSRP has been the next big thing in Nepal’s education reformation since the new education system was introduced in 1971. Launched in September, 2009 the project aimed to fulfil the state’s objective of ensuring ‘Education for All’ but fell short. Of other factors behind its failure, failure of the government to get the SSRP bill endorsed through parliament has been pointed by some as the major one. 

 

Ministry officials, however, are pushing to buy another two years for this Rs 256.82 billion  budget programme, according to Mahashram Sharma, spokesperson for the education ministry. 

 

The project aimed at improving the status of public schools along with the general education status of the nation. However, most of the plan has only been limited to paper. Educationist Bidhan Koirala points lack of realisation and recognition by the government, policy makers and political leaders about the outcome of SSRP as the major factor behind its failure. 

 

“If it was a politically originated document, it would have been endorsed. But as it’s an academically originated document, the political leaders have taken it in their own way. Though efforts are being made to endorse the bill through parliament, political leaders are not giving it the importance that it deserves,” he said. 

 

While the donor agencies contribute 22 per cent of the total Rs 256.82 billion  budget, the government has been contributing the remaining78 per cent. If the Ministry succeeds in buying two years time for the plan, it will require an additional Rs 117 billion for implementing the remaining projects. While informing that necessary documentation in this regard has been presented to the donor agencies, Sharma said that the ministry is planning to table the bill at the parliament at the earliest. 

 

Meanwhile donors are requesting to increase the budget of the education sector to 20 per cent of the total budget. Though this year the education sector received the largest pie of the budget, donor agencies have pointed out that this is due to the salary of staff. 

 

If SSRP gets another lease of life, it aims to amend the current education Act. In other changes, the current four-tier education system (i.e. primary, lower secondary, secondary and higher secondary levels) will be brought down to two:  class 1-8 would be made basic level and 9-12 secondary level.

 

Meanwhile, former president of Nepal Teachers’ Association, Mohan Gyawali says SSRP should not be implemented till the demands of teachers are fulfilled. He says that the government is trying to move out of its educational responsibility by handing over the school management to community. 

 

The education ministry has declared Rasuwa, Kapilvastu and Dadeldhura as model districts for SSRP programme. However, the progress reports of these districts are yet to come out.  The ministry had earlier committed to achieve the millennium development goal by 2015. Decreasing the dropout rates and bringing to the schools those children who are out of schools were some of the programmes under SSRP.