This is with reference to the news story “House panel tells govt to fix civic poll date at the earliest” (THT, June 30, Page 2). It has been 18 years since the last local bodies’ elections were held. The elections of the local bodies could not be held due to various reasons as the nation was passing through tumultuous political changes that the political leaders did not feel it necessary to hold the local elections which are considered to be the backbone of the grass-roots democracy. It is the local bodies that help provide government services to the people at their door-steps.Now the political parties have realized the role and importance of the elected local bodies only after the massive April 25 earthquake and its aftershocks caused huge damage and destruction of one-fourth of the country, leaving thousands of people dead. The parliamentary Development Committee has asked the government to prepare ground so that the interim local elections can be held within six months from the date of the commencement of the new constitution. Had there been elected local bodies, they would have helped the government collect details of information about the losses of life and property, and they would have also helped distribute relief assistance to the quake victims. It is a shame on the part of the political parties that they never understood the importance of the local bodies till the country was hit hard by the natural disaster.

Anupama Sharma, Bhairahawa

Poor return

It is a matter of immense concern that the majority of students appearing in the SLC examinations fail. Not even 50 per cent of them pass. Since the country is investing a significant portion of the budget in education it is sad to see most students failing. Clearly, the entire education sector needed drastic improvement. Again it is found that students from community schools have fared worse than those from private schools. This shows that the government is at fault and also the way students are being taught in community schools. Many teachers of the community schools in the past were found to be holding fake certificates. So, in order to enhance the quality of education in the Nepali schools it is important to employ only competent teachers who are serious about their job. The administration too is to be blamed for the poor performance in schools due to such shortcomings as not making available the textbooks particularly in the schools in the remote regions. If the government plays its part in providing quality education it would benefit the students and also the country for the students are the future pillars of the nation. It is justified to invest wisely on education, but this investment is not being used in a proper manner. It is a sad thing that much of the investments made on education is being wasted. Everything possible, therefore, needs to be done to enahance the quality of education being imparted in the country. I hope the concerned will take up this matter seriously.

Rama Thapa, via e-mail