In order to fix this perennial problem an inquiry should be launched and proper action taken as per its report to avoid  repetition of the same problem in the future

New academic session of all schools is beginning this week. But the government is unlikely to provide text-books within the deadline as the state-owned Janak Education Materials Centre (JEMC) has not been able to print the required number of text-books, let alone making an effective mechanism to distribute them across the country. JEMC officials themselves are not sure when they will complete the task of printing the text-books and when they will start distributing the books. It is quite meaningless to start the academic session without having the text-books in hands. Even the Education Minister Giriraj Mani Pokharel had earlier promised that the text-books would be dispatched to all the schools before the beginning of the new academic year. Sad to say is that the JEMC is learnt to have just printed about 50 percent of the books and distributed them to almost half of the districts mostly in accessible ones. It is the far-flung and remote districts, particularly the mountain regions, where students will have to wait for another couple of months to receive the text-books. It is not the first time that such problem has occurred. This problem has been going on and on for several years since the JEMC took responsibility of printing the government-prescribed text-books.

A glaring example of delaying the distribution of the text-books is that Chitwan district alone requires a total of 381,000 sets of government text-books. But JEMC has provided only 150,000 sets of books. Situation in Janakpur and Biratnagar is also the same where only 50 percent of the required text-books have reached there so far. It is not sure when the remote hilly districts will receive the books. Statistics received from JEMC show that only 13 million text-books have been printed whereas the total requirement stands at 17, 753,218 sets of text-books. If the text books are printed at this pace it will take another couple of months to complete the printing process and will take another month to distribute them. By that time half of this year’s academic session will pass without the text-books. Even the private firms were also allowed to print the text-books from Grade 1 to V. But they have also not kept up with the deadline. The private firms have printed up to 80 percent of the total requirement.

The concerned agency – Text-books Distribution, Management and Monitoring Committee – under the leadership of director general of the Department of Education held its meeting recently and decided to distribute the books at the earliest. How will this committee distribute the books still in the printing press? Who is responsible for this mismanagement that has become a culture year and year out? Will the education minister take moral responsibility and promptly act to fix the problem? The concerned ministry should have planned in advance – say six months before the academic session – about effective ways of printing the required number of text-books and a mechanism of distributing them before it is too late. In order to fix this perennial problem an inquiry should be launched and proper action taken as per its report to avoid repetition of the same problem in the future.

Making merry

Today is the eve of the Nepali New Year and tomorrow is a great day, which draws a curtain on a year and heralds a new one. A New Year is regarded by many as a day to turn over a new leaf, to kick a bad habit and pick up a good one. Many people make their New Year resolutions. It is another matter how many will keep their promises. For many indeed, a New Year is a day for making the same promises again or new promises. Most of them had made many New Year resolutions which were honoured in their breach.

But a New Year also becomes an occasion for eating, drinking and making merry. Especially those in the prime of their youth tend to overdo the whole show, and some of them drink beyond the level they can manage, and a good number also drive at the same time. This combination of drink and driving leads to dangerous results – accidents, death and injuries, apart from damage to property. Come Fagu, or some other big festival, unpleasant incidents and accidents from too much drink and reckless driving or simply brawls are reported regularly. In view of this, the police are reported to have taken special security precautions in the Kathmandu Valley.