Apropos of the editorial “Corrupt bodies” (THT, February 20, Page 8), unless we introduce a genuine “reward and punishment” system as prescribed by the rule of law as usually happens in advanced democracies all talks of eradicating official corruption in new Nepal are meaningless.

The fact that all public servants are aligned to one of the big five parties make matters worse for apolitical, powerless and helpless service seekers who at times are physically assaulted by the thuggish public servants, especially in Madhes.

So if the government wants to clean up its act, it has to introduce deadly forms of punishment. No other remedies will help. There is no point in blaming middlemen who act as proxy public servants with the active blessing of the official ones.

I think corruption is also associated with culture and tradition based on which people, largely in government service, tend to indulge in corruption or nepotism.

Unless the country is economically developed this kind of problem will remain unabated as people do not have any other option than to give or take bribe to get their jobs done by others hands.

The government bodies are also running in an old-fashioned manner and need to be overhauled to make them accountable to the public. Using modern information technology in all government services can also help reduce corruption a bit, if not completely.

Manohar Shrestha, Kathmandu

Lawlessness

I was mortified yet again after reading the news story revealing the corrupt educational scenario of our country (“Education sector tops list of complaints filed at CIAA”, THT, February 12, Page 2). Needless to say, the education sector of Nepal is cursed with corruption, which is an outcome of lawlessness.

Corruption has always been a problem of every generation that is detrimental to the inclusive development of the country. A majority of the aspiring students of Nepal are at the opposite end of their ability range, much to the chagrin of their parents.

A substantive amount of budget is spent in the education sector but the outcome is pathetic. Regardless of this harsh reality, the corrupt authorities and blood-suckers are simply worried about their bellies and pockets by abusing the power.

Skill oriented education and teaching and learning methods useful to life are still a far cry in Nepal. The government has not been able to introduce an education system that is applicable in agriculture, for example, which provides employment opportunity to a large number of people.

Every time the government comes up with a new education policy it is marred by controversy and it lacks direction. We need to introduce an education system that is practical and can give self-employment opportunity, particularly in rural areas, hills, mountains and plains.

If the young generation is provided with practical education, the nation can be built with skilled hands and nobody needs to go overseas for jobs.

Sanjog Karki, Tansen