The Secondary Education Examination (SEE), also known as the Iron Gate in Nepal, has been found to be maximally ajar for the appearing 485,396 students this year. Apart from students who secured grades of 2 to 2.2 and 2.2 to 2.4, all the other grade receiving students are more than what they were last year, including the highest grade 4.

The concerned authorities with their tail up after the publication of the result have hailed it as an improved one when compared to last year. But it lost steam, like the proverbial peacock dance, with some 155,000 students receiving the E grade, the lowest that is equivalent to securing 20 marks out of 100. The inclusion of 31 per cent of the students in this category reflects the overall ineffectiveness of secondary education in Nepal.

If the newly passed regulation is implemented, these students will not be eligible to join 11th grade. So would be the fate of 50 per cent of the students who secured a lower grade in Mathematics. It is said that the peacock dances with energy and enthusiasm sporting its colourful feathers, but it comes to a sudden stop after seeing its rather ugly legs.

We are at a time when the global trends in education are shifting towards the demands of the fourth industrial revolution. These are characterized by advances in science and technology thorough the use of robotics, internet of things, artificial intelligence, Nano technology, autonomous vehicle, quantum computing, 3D printing, material science, energy storage and the likes in global science. It is unfortunate that Nepali education is way down, battling with the demand of mostly second and marginally third industrial revolution in the education sector.

School effectiveness results when there is achievement in both school output and outcome. It emerges after the school achieves higher objectives when compared with its counterpart fed with similar input. Effective schools also raise the education quality of their students to the international standard for actualising international goals.

What are the factors that have led to this harsh reality? Why is not our education not effective? It is generally recognised that aspects like poor school leadership, substandard teachers, poor motivation, poor climate, poor community relations, low security and indiscipline, low expectation on students' access have been held responsible for lack of effectiveness.

According to a Flash Report published by the government on 2017/18, Nepal has 9,747 schools with 970,720 students at the secondary level. It also has 65,000 teachers engaged in teaching learning in these schools.

A report was submitted to the government by the High Level Education Commission in 2075 BS, but interestingly it was not owned by the government. In the context of educational leadership and the school principal, it has admitted that this factor is highly responsible for the present lack of effectiveness in education. Most of them are unqualified and unprofessional lacking in expertise, self-concept and self-confidence.

They also appear without the required, moral, intellectual and social fitness, including creativity, humility, sincerity and tactfulness as well as tolerance and sympathy. As a result, they become sceptical in running the affairs of the schools and end up doing rubbish instead of doing the right thing.

The other feature is certainly the substandard teachers. Some of them lack the required qualification and the license to teach. They then end up teaching things that are not right in the classroom. This renders the school education ineffective. The lack of training to the teachers is another drawback. They depend on the traditional mode of chalking, talking and chalking-talking.

Poor motivation is the disease that lurks in the school community in Nepal. It is due to a smaller pay compared to the others, for example, a bank employee. A low level clerk in the bank ends up drawing gratuity allowance receivable after the retirement more than a professor of the university.

Consequently, Kathmandu Metropolitan City has ordered the private schools to pay the teachers at par with the government pay. This leads to moonlighting by the teachers to make a living thereby devoting lesser time in teaching activities. The use of the much talked about agriculture labour teachers in the schools and colleges has emerged due to this anomaly.

Inadequate physical facility and infrastructural decay are another eyesore seen on the school premises. In many public secondary schools in the country, teaching and learning suffers from over-crowded classrooms and an unconducive atmosphere, lacking essential teaching and learning materials. It has certainly thwarted the realisation of the targeted educational goals of the schools. Dilapidated buildings, congested classrooms together with floor squatting are some of the ironies of the school environ. Only 70 per cent of them have girls' toilets, leading to the drop out of girls in the higher classes.

Low parental and community participation has brought down the standard of school education in the country. It sometimes occurs due to the reluctance of the school principal to engage the parents and community in the management committee of the school in an effort to face inquiries and questions from the parents.

Insecurity and indiscipline have also brought down the quality of education in Nepal. A few years back, the Maoist insurgency had affected the teaching learning process in schools due to kidnapping of teachers and students. Last but not the least, the low expectation from the students has marred the effectiveness in teaching. As a result, teachers do not give challenging problems to the students thereby lacking creativity in their outlook.

There are several other facets which affect the school education in Nepal. But it can be improved to a great extent if the aforementioned parts are addressed in letter and spirit by the government.

A version of this article appears in the print on July 11, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.