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Nepal’s farm sector needs a shot or two in the arm in view of changing weather patterns amid a deepening climate crisis and forgotten yet effective traditional agricultural practices. 

For revitalization of this sector, every farmer needs to know what crops (traditional, modern, cash crops, etc) can grow well in their land. It is the duty of every local government to make sure that the farmers know this.   

Who among these farmers want to opt for subsistence farming? Who wants to go for commercial farming and who prefers surplus farming?

Relevant authorities should take a call on this because the needs of these separate groups of farmers are quite different.    

Subsistence farmers need nothing, surplus farmers need guaranteed markets at their doorsteps whereas commercial farmers need guaranteed connections of national markets and knowledge to preserve their productions in a variety of ways. 

It is the duty of Palikas (rural municipalities) to lease the parcels of land to the poor people interested in farming or sell it to them by accepting payment in installments.  

Farmers also need to bear in mind that our ancestors switched to new crops in keeping with changing climatic conditions, including the availability of water. They need to realize that food patterns have been changing over generations and time has perhaps come yet again to change our food habits in keeping with a changing climate.  

In this regard, we can take a leaf from Vedic ancestors, who taught us to blend science and intellect and sustain it culturally.  For example, they taught us how to tap into the cosmic energy to rejuvenate ourselves. Planting Tulasi, Pipal and Sami was their way of ensuring a steady supply of pure oxygen and antioxidants.

Let us learn about sustainable development goals (SDGs) from our religious texts and cultural practices, and unlearn from the past efforts of government as well as non-government organizations (GOs/NGOs), if we are to indeed give sustainable development a boost in our soil. 

Commission-oriented practices of politicians and businesspersons, in particular, have led to soaring imports of substandard foodstuffs of inferior quality, making the Nepali farmers reluctant to cultivate crops. So, we must make it loud and clear to our neighbors that these food imports have made our people lazy, and increased health hazards.

Our import-oriented economy throws ample light on the country’s crop production scenario. Politicians least bothered about crop yields, a labor-intensive farming system, unethical business and trade practices, and consumption-oriented mindsets are responsible for inviting this situation. 

To overcome this scenario, let us make a matrix of our food demands, our production, the gaps, crops that we must grow, and local governments that can grow these crops.  This matrix will help to move ahead with crop production plans.  

Commitment requires continuity—in saying and doing—something, which can be done by developing all political parties’ consensual intent, programs, funding mechanisms and an accountable implementing agency, which will remain there regardless of who comes to power. But none of the rulers and potential rulers are heading in that direction, pointing at the absence of their commitment to the cause. 

Summing up, the Nepalis possess a number of indigenous skills to fill up their stomachs.  

Ignoring this heritage, we followed westernization in the name of modernization in the farm sector as well. So, let’s first learn to differentiate between the two and go for modernization of what we have. Secondly, our developmentalists adapted the deficiency thesis. Let’s follow an efficiency thesis to enable poor people for a self-sustaining economy.  Thirdly, let us encourage industrialists and businesspersons to establish organic industries.  Fourth, we exhausted our land by using chemical fertilizers and pesticides, sidelined the local and indigenous wisdom, and replaced indigenous crops. Let’s move ahead by learning lessons from these mistakes. Fifth, we became consumers and inhuman businesspersons to feed long grain rice and poisonous vegetables, poultries and pigs laced with chemicals. Let’s reflect on this moniya culture (money is supreme) and work for human and nature- friendly productions.

Professor Bidya Nath Koirala is the former head of the Central Department of Education at Tribhuvan University. He has extensive experience in evaluating and auditing educational projects and institutions. These days he offers consultation on improving education at the grassroots level. In this column of Nepal Planner, he presents a 10-point roadmap for the education system in Nepal.

Education for all

GOs and I/NGOs implemented a number of programs to ensure education for all. Because of these efforts we have 76 percent people literate; 94 percent children are in school; gender parity index is almost one up to secondary level education. Even in higher education, the gender parity index has been improved.  And yet, neo-literates are relapsing to be illiterate in the absence of adequate programs. Only 1/3 children enrolled at grade one complete grade 12 meaning that we have huge dropouts. These dropouts require a systematic open education system for learning and hands-on skill. But the problem is that it is yet to be implemented.   

Crisis on education

Education is amalgamation of the ancestral, contemporary and the envisioned knowledge and the skills.  But the problem with us is that we fetched the idea that the West is best. This practice ignored the Vedic, Buddhist, and the Kirat’s home grown knowledge and Islamic adapted knowledge along with their daily practices.  This made us the knower of 1/3 knowledge. The skills that we inherited did not get a chance to be developed. The knowledge that we inherited did not get a chance to be linked up with the dominant skills that we value. The home grown pedagogy of shravan, manana and nididhyasan of the Hindus, Buddhists and Kirats are replaced; the pedagogy that Mahabharat taught i.e. learn 1⁄4 from Guru, 1⁄4 from friends, 1⁄4 from available experts, and 1⁄4 from personal experience is sidelined.

SDG

Sustainable development goal is the much talked about and little done business in Nepal.  The reason is that we ignored the culturally sustained knowledge and skills. Take the examples of passing the Puranic knowledge, culturally learnt farming system, ancestrally transferred health care system etc.  Dalan of Madhesh and Dabali of Kathmandu, Rodhi of Hills and tea serving of the Mountain are some of the sustained examples. Bonpo of Tamang, Thakali of Thak Khola, Badghar of Tharu, and Maijan of Madheshi group are the cultural rulers.  But they don’t get space in Palika leadership. This implies that we talk more about SDG and do less to sustain them through educational processes.    

Government commitment

The rulers always mention their commitment of education for all, free and compulsory education, skills for all, research in higher education, training for teachers, deprivatization of education, departicization in education etc. But they lack institutional memory and the accountability to translate the commitment into action. Among others, the low literacy rate of Madhes and Karnali Province are examples of it.     

Challenges and threats

Words are enough in Nepal. They appear in the form of policy, planning documents, and speeches of the ruling governments.  But the challenge is to translate these words into action by being rational.  For instance, the country invests about 14 percent of the national budget to the army and police force and allots 11 percent of its budget in education. Contrary to it, each of the ruling and the potential ruling parties champions for 20 percent investment in education. Interestingly none of the ruling parties implemented compulsory saving of all the people and mobilized that money for the development of the country and later on, used that money for entrepreneurship development programs.  

Our educational situation

We imported education from the West via India in the hope that it would give employment opportunities. But this truth of 1956 has been changed: the current narrative says that education turned out as a producer of unemployed and underemployed graduates. Here again a question arises about the training and education, are we seeking for training if yes, we can promote short term training and Youtube based training. If we are seeking an academic course, we can help academize the context, content, method and evaluation system. If we are looking for the blend of training and education or vice versa, we can enable teachers and students to make digital and non-digital books in place and use them.  Here I see that we are trapped in confusion.    

Neighbor support

China valued its cognitive culture to educate the people. India inherited and built on the Gurukul system of education. It also continued the British imposed education system as well. But Nepal fetched many things from the donor and the loaner countries eventually making a junkyard of many ideas. This means we failed to link our education system with the homegrown seeds. We also failed to create the culture of the fetched ideas. Semester system, continuous assessment system, letter grading system are some examples as they are yet to be implemented as that of the west.  

Supporting vulnerable communities

Nepal followed a blanket approach to support the children of the vulnerable communities. Sanitary pad for all; mid day meal for all, textbooks for all are some of the examples. But we failed to apply the concept of equity instead we introduced the concept of equality in resource constrained countries like Nepal. This approach did not do justice to the vulnerable community as they get less in comparison to what they need. For example, Dalits and the children of the marginalized community need additional support and/or their parents require a self sustained job. In both the requirements, we are yet to think.  

Success stories

Success stories are scattered here and there. Some cases are reported in the media but there has been no systematic information about the success stories of students at local, provincial and national level governments. Increased educational access to the differently able children, earning skills while learning, scholarship support for the poor children are some of the success stories.  But they are yet to be documented in a systematic way for public consumption.  

Way forward

Firstly, linking the indigenous knowledge with the western knowledge and enabling the students for a hybridized education system is the need of the day to promote glocalization (blend of local with global)  in education. Secondly, we have culturally inherited skills. They have STEAMS (science, technology, engineering, art, math, and science) together. Teachers need to recognize them and link them with the curriculum and the textbooks.  At the same time they need to provide entrepreneurship skills and compulsory personal saving to their students. Thirdly, teachers need self assessment skills and make them professional. Fourthly, teachers belong to the analogue generation and they are supposed to teach to the students of the digital generation. This generation gap between the teachers and the students needs to be bridged by enabling students to be researchers; research in the mobile, research with the parents, research with the classmates, seniors and juniors, and self reflective research. Fifthly, teachers need to be updated digitally and their best activities need to be digitally documented in the local level’s website portals.

The Bill to amend and integrate laws related to education is technically more sound than previous bills as it has several well-defined provisions. But some provisions are contradictory and there’s room for improvement in the government-sponsored bill registered in the House of Representatives. For instance, it talks about teaching in mother tongue, with a rider: Teaching four subjects in English is mandatory. The bill has cited constitutional provisions on providing free basic education, without tasking any authority with their implementation.

It has stipulated selecting the chair of the school management committee from among parents. Well and good. But what about the existing school management committee federation? 

It envisions operating new private schools under Guthi (Board of Trustees), while exempting private schools already in operation from the Guthi system. What of equality? 

Overall, this bill is better than previous ones. How will teachers and other stakeholders react? Let’s wait and watch. 

The author is an educationist