More and more students are relying on the internet to get the knowledge they should otherwise learn in their classrooms. But do they rely on the internet and other out-of-classroom resources only because most of them have an easy access to the wealth of information online? Part of the answer might lie closer home. Money-minded teachers (especially in government-run campuses) are as much a part of the problem as indifferent students. Why should they?

It is no secret that many teachers affiliated with Tribhuvan University go to their campuses only because they have to make up the hours. Quite a few of them have gained noteriety for rattling off their notes and for their hostility to probing questions from students. It seems as if the students are deliberately being encouraged to take private lessons from the same tutors. The emphasis again is on getting the students to clear their final exams, not increasing the students’ knowledge. There is no strict mechanism to compel the teachers to take their classes regularly and to monitor if they are sincere in their duties. The coaching centres are sprouting all across Kathmandu and other cities in Nepal, particularly near TU-affiliated campuses where the same TU teachers often run the private classes for their campus students. Unless there are strict requirements that every teacher must meet and unless the question patterns for final exams are made more objective, the quality of the country’s higher education will continue to suffer.