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The current education model prioritizes rote learning, academic performance, and passing rates, thereby overlooking the wellbeing and needs of the students. There are many educational flaws that are being worked on, but some key points are not being prioritized.

Schools today no longer serve as spaces for learning, recreation, and social growth. Instead, they have become institutions that mold young minds into rigid expectations. This deprives a student’s originality and essence of childhood and true holistic development is often unfulfilled.

The students are burdened with an unnecessary amount of homework. It is even seen as a sign of prestige and effectiveness. It is believed that more a school makes a student busy at home the better it is. Whether it be for the belief that it will make their child more productive or the fact that parents do not have time to deal with their child, parents even ask schools for extra homework. The assignments leave little to no time for children to explore, learn beyond curriculum, play, develop themselves and be a part of the society. The young kids are left with energy drainage and under an overwhelming pressure and fear of ‘homework’ which was supposed to aid learning and holistic performance and a fun overview. 

To ensure the effectiveness of homework, children of grade 3 and below should not be given any homework at all. Grades 4, 5 and 6 should be given less than 30 minutes of homework per day. Grades 7 and 8 should be given less than 60 minutes of homework per day and grades 9 and 10 should be given less than 120 minutes per day; Learning assignments also count as homework. During vacations like Dashain, students are often given more homework, but holidays should be for relaxation, not extra work. It’s a time to connect with traditions, learn about our rituals, and spend time with family, rather than being burdened with assignments.

Many institutions have made morning and evening classes mandatory in addition to the regular day class for grades 8, 9 and 10. A school day ranges from 6 am to 6 pm, and in some cases, as late as 8 pm. On top of it lies homework yet to be done after reaching home. With more than 12 hours dedicated to school followed by assignments and additional tasks, there is no time for relaxation. This causes students to sacrifice their sleep, free time, social life and overall wellbeing. This practice for simple grade levels and young students is simply unnecessary. The topic must be addressed immediately, as it stifles critical thinking and passion for learning. 

According to Nepal Labor Act 2074, No workers shall be employed to work more than eight hours a day and 48 hours a week. There needs to be recognition of learning labor of students. So, regardless of the grades, a school day must be eight hours or less. No student should be obliged to attend morning or evening class. Extra classes must be voluntary, and they should not introduce new syllabus content that compels students to attend.

Some private schools punish and fine students for the sake of speaking their mother tongue (Nepali) and have made it mandatory to speak in English. This is a crime against identity, cultural heritage and language. It develops foreign languages but puts our languages on the verge of extinction and inaccuracy. This links student’s mother tongue with fear and a sense of shame, inferiority, and disrespect. 

According to the 2020 National Assessment of Student Achievement (NASA), only 58 percent of eighth graders achieved basic proficiency in Nepali indicating that over 40 percent lacked adequate skills in their national language. Despite other contributing factors, students should develop proficiency in their mother tongue before focusing on another foreign language. Even the institutions identifying themselves as English medium, students should be allowed to speak their native language without any fear.

In our culture, where intelligence is measured with thickness of books, A heavy backpack is a significant problem. A typical school bag consists of eight subject copies, eight textbooks, a school diary, water bottle, pencil case and even eight additional notebooks for homework.

The heavy bag develops back strain and bad posture from a young age. Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that school backpacks should weigh no more than 10-15 percent of the child’s body weight. Students are encouraged to bring all tools to be “well equipped”. Schools should manage lockers and should not promote the use of unnecessary number of stationary.

The mentioned changes will help the schools be what the students need it as and will help overcome the problems that remain in our education policy.

Uma Regmi

Grade: X

Shree Bal Uddhar Secondary School

Budhanilkantha Municipality-10, Kapan, Kathmandu

In our day-to-day lives, we often cross paths with people whose work keeps our communities functioning—bus conductors, street cleaners, garbage collectors, security  guards, and others working behind the scenes. Yet, these are the very people we so  often ignore, look down upon, or treat with impatience. It’s time we asked ourselves: Why? 

There is a deeply rooted tendency in our society to equate respect with position, wealth, or educational qualifications. Those who wear uniforms, perform physically demanding  tasks, or work under the sun are often treated as if they are somehow “less.” But the  truth is this: every job has dignity and every person deserves respect. 

Consider this: Kathmandu Valley alone generates over 1,200 metric tons of solid waste  every day, much of which is managed by over 1,500 sanitation workers, many from  marginalized backgrounds. These workers rise before dawn, clean our roads, and  handle the very waste we throw without a second thought. Yet, a 2023 study by the  Centre for Labour and Social Studies Nepal found that 65 percent of sanitation workers  reported being treated with disrespect or ignored entirely by the public. 

Public transport workers, too—like bus conductors and microbus helpers, help tens of  thousands of people reach their destinations daily. Despite their essential service, they  are often met with rude behavior or treated as if their efforts have no value. This  behavior isn’t just unkind—it’s unjust. 

It reflects a societal gap in empathy and awareness. We must understand that dignity is  not tied to one’s income, title, or background, but to the fact that each of us contributes,  in different ways, to the collective good of our society. The health of our communities,  the smooth functioning of our cities, and even our personal comfort depends on the  labor of these hardworking individuals. 

What we need is a culture shift. A shift that starts with something simple: respect. Meet the people we usually ignore. Let us teach our children to thank those who serve us—not just doctors and teachers, but also the cleaner who makes their school safe and  the driver who takes them home. Talk to the street vendor and parking attendant. These small acts can build a more inclusive and humane society. But the real change begins with us—how we think, how we speak, and how we treat those  around us. 

In a just society, no one is “too small” to be seen or heard. Let us remember that the  hands that sweep our streets and carry our garbage are just as important as the hands  that sign documents and sit in offices. Respect should not be a luxury for the privileged.  It should be a shared value that defines who we are as a people. 

Ayushma Budhathoki 

St Xavier’s College, Maitighar

So I was very tired after … Oh sorry! I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Jammy and today I’m going to tell you about my adventure. So let’s begin. I was very tired after school, so I went to my room, tossed my bag aside, and went to the washroom to freshen up. I then had my snacks and entered my room to watch TV. As I laid down in my bed, I couldn’t stop my eyelids from drooping. 

After a while I heard some noise. The noise was coming from the attic. Then I realized I was home alone. I was scared, but I mustered the courage to go up. I opened the door to the attic and followed the screeching sound coming from the corner. There I discovered a cat playing with my old rocket toy. I sat down and stroked the cat. Suddenly it started talking to me. “Thank you for petting me and showing love,” it said, and handed me a shiny coin.

I thanked the cat and it told me that the coin can make tiny objects larger. “Just hold the coin in your hand and touch the object you wish to enlarge and say the spell ‘bibbidi bobbidi boo you’ll be big woohoo’,” the cat told me. I burst out laughing after hearing the silly spell—but the cat vanished before I could say anything. 

I touched the rocket toy and said the spell while holding the coin. To my surprise, the rocket toy became a real rocket. I went inside, and found myself floating. I made my way into the cockpit and pressed some random buttons. Suddenly the rocket started to take off. I held tight to my seat, as I left the earth. I was so thrilled to be in space. Then suddenly an asteroid hit my rocket. I was screaming as I was about to crash. Unexpectedly, my magical rocket landed on an unknown planet. I got out of the spaceship to investigate where I was. I left my craft behind and started walking, and suddenly I spotted an alien. Frightened, I ran toward my spaceship. But the creature got a hold of me. As I was flailing and screaming, my captor told me: “Don’t worry, I won’t harm you. I just want to know why you are here.” “I was flying to the moon, but an asteroid hit my rocket and I crashed,” I explained. 

Then the alien, who told me he was named Ales, asked me if he could see my rocket. I agreed. “You seem to have run out of fuel,” he told me after inspecting the rocket. I began to panic, but Ales told me he would help me. 

Ales showed me around his planet. It was called “S21”, and Ales and his kind have been inhabiting the place for thousands of years. My extraterrestrial friend gave me a tour of his beautiful planet. He also showed me his home and met his friend Meshel. Ales and Meshel communicated in their language, which I found very funny. Now I had two alien friends, and they took me on a walking tour of planet S21. They took me to a mountain made of diamonds and a lake filled with liquid gold. I also had the honor of joining Ales’ family for dinner, but I was shocked by the sight of the meal on the table. Residents of S21 ate slugs and worm juice. I didn’t want to appear churlish, so I ate what was offered to me. Ales insisted that I spend the night at his place. The bed was made of the fluffiest animal. It was so comfy that I fell asleep in no time. When I woke up I saw a nice sunrise and it made my day. But I was missing my home, so I told Ales that I have to leave. So he offered to prepare fuel for my rocket. He knew the ingredients for fuel. He brought some fossils, heated them up, and poured some chemicals on them. As the chemical reaction was underway, we played games. I showed him the games played on my planet like tic-tac-toe played, and he showed me the games played on S21.  Once the fuel was ready, we refueled my spaceship. Ales gave me a gift during our emotional goodbye. Just as my rocket left S21, I heard a familiar voice calling my name. “Jammy, Jammy, Jammy wake up , Jammy.” I opened my eyes, my mom staring down at my face. So it was all a dream. “Time for dinner,” she told me. Blearily I went to the kitchen, remembering the dinner of slugs and worm juice at Ales’ home.

Shreyashi Sigdel 

Class: VI

Euro School, Chhauni

On a beautiful, sunny day of April 1, I woke up happily. I was going to Pokhara for a trek with my mother, who was already there. I had lunch with my father, changed into a fresh pair of clothes, and we headed to the airport.

The next day, at around 10 am, more of my mother’s friends arrived. We all got into the car and hit the road. After about an hour and a half, we stopped at Birethanti for lunch. Another hour and a half later, we reached Thikhedunga. From there, our real trek began.

We walked from Thikhedunga to Ulleri. The stairs on the way were crooked and many of them wobbled. It was quite tough to walk on them. When we reached Ulleri, we stayed at Hotel Purnima.

The next morning, we clicked a group photo and continued our journey. The stairs this time were much better, though the first set had really tall steps that made us stretch our legs to climb. Along the trail, we saw a beautiful white flower on a tree. When we asked a local woman, she told us it was called Chaanpa. We paused for a while to admire it before moving on.

A bit further along, we found a tea shop and rested there for a while. I was sucking on a piece of ginger—my mother said it helps with altitude sickness. While walking again, I accidentally stepped on horse dung and said ‘ow’ instead of ‘eww’. It was so silly I burst out laughing!

We also came across a tap with drinkable water. It had a slightly sweet taste because of the minerals, and the water came from a natural spring. Later, we found a small waterfall that flowed into a stream. We decided to take a break and dip our feet in the water. We probably should have checked the temperature first—because it was freezing! My feet felt swollen, and when I pulled them out, the pain was so intense I screamed. The echo rang through the jungle. For the first time in my life, I wished I had socks on!

The trail to Nagthanti was tricky and a bit scary, but my mother helped me, and I luckily reached there in one piece. We had lunch, which was pretty good, and then resumed our trek. On the way, we saw a lot of buffaloes—and even watched two of them fighting! We continued walking with breaks here and there, and eventually reached Ghorepani. After a bit more walking, we arrived at our hotel: Hotel Snowland. It was one of the best places we stayed at—there was even a hot shower, which was a pleasant surprise in such a remote area.

The next day, we left early for Poon Hill. At the border of Ghorepani and Poon Hill, there was a ticket counter where we bought entry tickets. The hike took about an hour and a half, and luckily, we didn’t miss the sunrise. First, we viewed the mountains and sunrise from the ground, but then climbed up to the view tower. The view was absolutely mesmerizing.

On the way back, we walked through two Rhododendron forests filled with dark and light pink flowers. We reached Thapledanda and stopped for a snack break. It was nearly the same altitude as Poon Hill. Then we descended to Deurali, had lunch, and saw lots of ponies.

We walked through a narrow gorge and reached Banthanti for another break. After that, we continued on. I twisted my foot along the way, which really hurt, so I was limping the rest of the day. When we were near Tadapani, we heard thunder and hurried to our hotel. Just after we arrived, it started raining heavily. For dinner, I had noodles and lentil soup.

The next morning, the skies were clear, and we got some great mountain views—so we took more photos. We walked until we reached Ghandruk, where we had lunch and reunited with the rest of our group. We visited the Gurung Museum, dressed up in traditional Gurung clothes, and clicked hundreds of photos. The museum had lots of interesting items—some I already knew about, and some I had never seen before.

After the museum visit, we walked to the bus park. It took us about three hours to reach Lakeside, Pokhara. In the evening, we went window shopping, and my mother and her friends went for a foot massage.

On our final day, we went boating in Fewa Taal and visited the Tal Barahi Temple. After returning to the hotel, we headed to the airport. A short wait later, we boarded our flight and returned home. I loved the trek to Poon Hill!

Eneesha Dhakal

Grade IV 

Rato Bangala School