Action, not words

This is in response to the article “Teacher training” (THT, April 4) by Ram S Sinha and Shiba K Sapkota, the executive director and the training project coordinator of National Centre for Education Development (NCED) respectively. Instead of committing themselves to improve the quality of their training, they rather insist that whatever NCED is doing is right.

My discussion with Higher Secondary Education Board (HSEB) officials confirms my hunch that HSEB is unlikely to accredit NCED’s 10-month training programme as grade 11, even with a bridge course. Therefore, I urge NCED officials to focus more on improving the quality of their training programmes rather than trying to confuse the public about the equivalence of 10-month training with grade 11.

Dr. Mana Prasad Wagley, Minbhawan

Brain drain

Political instability is forcing a lot of students to leave the country for better educational opportunities abroad.

Courses are not completed and exams are not held on time, thus affecting the final grades. Only the establishment of permanent peace in the country will persuade the students to stay put.

Abhinay Jayaswal, via e-mail

No gift

Dhananjay Shah’s Midway piece “Gratuitous gift” (THT, April 2) hits the nail on the head when he points out the advantages of being a good listener. To listen to someone for any length of time, one needs plenty of patience which, in turn, helps gain patience on other occasions.

Rajshree Kabra, New Plaza, Kathmandu

Give us more

THT’s April Fool’s Day spoof in the form of a news story (“Mount Everest shrinking fast”, April 1), which was front-paged, was impressive. For a moment, the thought that Mt. Everest will soon lose its status of the tallest mountain in the world pinched me. And the quote from Prachanda was fantastic as it talked of yet another example of “royal conspiracy”. The spoof on Shakira’s Kathmandu visit was also great. I wish to read such fun-filled articles more often, not just on April fool’s Day.

Suraksha, via e-mail

Misleading

This is the time that schools, colleges and an assortment of other educational institutions mobilise all their available resources to net as many new applicants as possible.

Every time I turn the pages of any newspaper, I am overwhelmed by the advertisements for enrolment. But the problem lies in their content rather in their volume.

I noticed that for every 10 admission ads, 6-7 feature pretty, young girls. In other words, these institutions are trying to trap rich, not necessarily good, students - not on the strength of their overall strength but on the performance of a couple of students.

As much as these commercial schools and colleges, the advertising agencies and the media should also share the blame. There is a need to stop advertisements which make false claims.

Satish Singh, via e-mail