After S.L.C

This is probably the biggest question that grips those who are about to cross this Iron Gate. While some might have planned their career carefully and relevantly, it is likely that many others simply haven’t. There is inadequate knowledge and information about the career prospects available in Nepal. And many students seem totally confused. Career planning is a crucial part of student life. A smartly selected career offers myriad opportunities while a silly choice leads to nowhere. The changing global employment scenario and involvement of technology in almost all the sectors and a fierce competition among the talents have made the job market quite tough. In this background, holding a degree just doesn’t count much. One must possess adequate knowledge about the field which he chooses to pursue his career in. All that matters in this changing environment is a wide knowledge, not just academic excellence. With consistent reforms brought about in the educational sector, Nepal has recently taken a giant leap. There was a time when our elders had to go to some Indian universities to pursue different studies. But now times have changed and for good. We have medical colleges all over the country vying to attract the students not only from within the country but also from abroad. Various Nepali colleges are getting affiliated to renowned foreign universities thus introducing new and timely subjects and short-term courses. Despite all odds in the country at the moment, the S.L.C. examination 2060 is being held without any disturbances. The number of students to take S.L.C. this year is 3, 17,001 (2, 26,347 regular and 90,654 exempted). There are 905 centers this year. Last year, there were 851 centers with total number of students to appear in exam being 2,308,72 even though 2,84,024 students had filled the forms. Apart from customary Commerce, Science, Arts and Education study, Kathmandu Infotiser in this issue explores some other happening faculties where students can join in after the S.L.C. exams. And we have extended our effort to include also something about the history of S.L.C. in Nepal and the curriculum development. TALE OF S.L.C. IN NEPAL With a motive to start primary English education in Nepal, the then Prime Minister Jung Bahadur Rana established Durbar High School in Ashwin 27, 1910 BS only to educate the children of the Rana family. It was only in BS 1942 during the reign of Bir Shamsher that Durbar High School was opened for the public. Durbar High School was affiliated to the Calcutta University of India till 1980. During that period students had to go to Calcutta to sit for the examinations called ‘Entrance Exam’ (equivalent to today’s our S.L.C) and the Nepali government used to bear all the expenses on student accommodation and others during the students’ stay in Calcutta. In 1980 BS, Durbar High School got affiliated to Patna University. Then on, the students had to go to Patna to attend the S.L.C. examinations. In 1986 BS, Patna University set up its Examination Center in Kathmandu. A superintendent from Patna University would bring question papers to the Durbar High School and, after exams, would take them back for checking and announcing results. Till 1989 BS, Nepali language was not included in the S.L.C. exams. Finally, in 1950 BS, Patna University agreed to set up its Examination Board in Nepal and included Nepali language in its curriculum. The S.L.C. Board which was established in Kartik 16, 1990 BS saw only 34 students taking the exam in its initial conduct. The students were from Durbar High School and Patan High School (established 77 years later than the Durbar High School).During the reign of Dev Shamsher, about 50 schools inside the valley and around 180 schools opened up in the other parts of the country. One teacher for fifty students was the effort that the ruler put into practice. He even offered scholarship of 9 muri paddy and Rs 5 annually to further encourage students who joined the Durbar High School. After the advent of democracy in 1950 (2007 BS) in the country, the educational sector too saw positive changes. In 2008 BS Nepali Siksha Parishad was established. Then in BS 2009, National Education Board was established. The educational sector of Nepal saw tremendous surge during the period 2028 BS – 2046 BS when the pre-existing educational standard got entirely revised and modeled to somehow meet the international standard. It was in this period that pre-primary, primary and secondary level education got separated. Late King Birendra made the primary-level education free of cost in BS 2031. And BS 2035 onwards the S.L.C. toppers at national and district respectively got Rs 30,000 and 15,000. After BS 2043, the award was raised to Rs 50,000 and Rs 20,000. HOW ARE S.L.C. EXAMS HELD? The questions for S.L.C. are made to cover all the aspects of the curriculum and are designed to meet the efficiency of the students with variant skills. The skilled teachers from every subject make questions according to the curriculum and then the questions are sent to specialists. After the process, the questions get compiled, jumbled and are made final. The final question sets are sent for printing and are then seal-packed. After the examination dates are confirmed, the board sends them to different examination centers.After the exam, the superintendent takes all the answer papers after completing all the formal proceedings, i.e. keeping record of the students and else, to the district education office. The office sends the answer papers to the destined place for evaluation. The answer papers, after correction, come again to the office with mark slips. The district office then sends those answer papers to the office of controller of examinations for the computer process and ultimately the results are carried out. In case a student loses his certificates, he can fill an application form with certain processing charge. After 2052 BS, when decentralization process came into effect, students can submit their application form at their respective regional educational director’s office. If a student is not satisfied with the marks he has obtained, he/she can request for retotaling, for which the student has to submit the forms within 45 days of the results paying a fixed processing charge. The applications from all the regions get collected at the controller’s office. The people at the controller’s office pick out the related answer papers from the collection and see for mistotalling. To verify the student’s claim, three experts go through the paper and ther report is cross-checked by a co-ordinator. The paper then comes to the controller’s committee and if the claim is found to be correct, the results are revised EMERGENCE OF COLLEGES Tri Chandra is the first college in Nepal and it was established in BS 1969 by Chandra Shumsher. The college was initially affiliated to the Calcutta University and it started its I.Sc classes from BS 1977. Other colleges started to appear when Tri Chandra College gave permission for the private colleges. Tribhuvan University (TU) was established in BS 2015 and many colleges were set up affiliated to TU. Higher Secondary Education (+2) started from BS 2049. And in BS 2056 Department of Education was formed. EDUCATIONAL BOARDS The Higher Secondary Education in Nepal has got tremendous admiration. This board has qualitative curriculum and good recognition. All the HSEB affiliated colleges gather good results annually. One advantage of studying under this board is that the science students get choices to go for either Engineering or Medicine after completing their +2 in Science while the I.Sc students under TU can either go for engineering or medicine after the completion of their studies. This is because the students of I.Sc have to choose either biology or mathematics in the first year itself and go for it in the second year while the +2 students of science can choose to study both bio and mathematics. HISTORY OF UNIVERSITIES AND BOARDS IN NEPAL Mahendra Sanskrit University – since BS 2043 Kathmandu University – since BS 2048 Tribhuvan University – since BS 2015 Pokhara University – since BS 2052 Purbanchal University – since BS 2051 HSEB – since BS 2049 AFTER S.L.C. The wide-read subjects after S.L.C. are – Humanities, Commerce, Science and Education. These subjects have their own charm and where they lead one is quite clear to many students. Besides that, there are many more careers that the SLC graduates can opt for. There are short term professional courses, vocational trainings amd such. Some of such careers have been discussed below: FINE ARTS Fine Art has a long history in Nepal. The first school established was ‘Art School’ in 1903. The subject is the best for the creative students. There are various Fine Arts colleges in and outside the valley that provide intermediate courses in Fine Arts. The Intermediate has classes on the basics of drawing and painting, and sculpture. English and Nepali are the compulsory subjects. While some colleges don’t offer the graphic part of the designing, some like Institute of Fine Arts, at Ganabahal, a newly opened Fine Arts institution, has such offering. Further into the course, classes on classical instruments, classical dances, textile designing and so forth are available. FORESTRY Forestry is one of the fields that hold good future prospects for the students who have completed S.L.C. This subject is also a noble venture into forest conservation and constraining the mounting environmental degradation. Nepal has two institutions for forestry – one in Hetauda and another in Pokhara, both affiliated to the Tribhuvan University, offering certificate and bachelors level studies. The course provides advanced training in forestry and natural resource, conservation and management. Additional responsibilities include forestry research and development of technology suitable for Nepal. The campuses of the Institute of Forestry have laboratories, woodlots, arboreta, horticulture research farms, computer and other facilities. Apart from the mainstream academic courses, there are various vocational and short-term courses that the students can pursue after completing S.L.C. Some of the courses and related institutions are listed below: HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT Hospitality management is a growing field, globally. Colleges like NATHM (Nepal Academy of Tourism and Hospitality Management) offer access only after the completion of the intermediate level. However, they also offer some short-term courses on waiters, room boys, chefs, travel agents, house-keeping, front office, barman etc. The students can extend their career in different hotels, restaurants and at many administrative units after sincerely going through these courses. SANSKRIT After the completion of S.L.C., students can opt for Sanskrit studies. The Intermediate in Sanskrit is called Uttar Madhyama. There are various colleges in and outside the valley that offer the intermediate course, all being affiliated to the Mahendra Sanskrit University. After the completion of Uttar Madhyama, students can enroll to the bachelors’ level study, i.e. Shastri and then masters level i.e. Acharya. Vedas, Sanskrit Grammar, Literature, Astronomy are some of the subjects that students have to study under the intermediate curriculum. The study of Sanskrit leads students to sectors like Archeology, Astrology, Astronomy, Anthropology and so forth. The study of Sanskrit helps the students in historical research as all the holy books and ancient scriptures of Hinduism and Buddhism are found to be written in Sanskrit language or its derivatives: for example Pali, which is the language of major Buddhist scriptures, is derived from Sanskrit. CTEVT COURSES The Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT) is the policy formulation and coordinating body for Technical Education and Vocational Training (TEVT) programs in Nepal, which was constituted in 1989 (2045 BS). The CTEVT is a national autonomous body committed to the growth and development of basic and middle level workforce for Nepal. Presently, CTEVT is responsible for the operation of 4 different kinds of training programs. These are the programs in technical schools, programs in technical instructor training institutes, programs in Polytechnics and programs in vocational training and community development institutions. In addition, CTEVT is responsible for certifying other training programs. POLYTECHNICS CTEVT has planned to establish five polytechnics in each of the five development regions but up to now, Hetauda Polytechnic (Hetauda Polytechnic Pilot Project), Tansen Nursing School and School of Health Science, Bharatpur are running as polytechnic institutes. School of Health Science at Bharatpur, Chitwan is the first Technical school (Polytechnic) under CTEVT to produce technical manpower in general medicine This School specially offers training on Health Assistant and minimum requirement for the training is SLC passed candidates with Science, Math and English subjects. It has annual enrollment capacity of 60. Beside the regular teaching programs, the school also has training program on Jeevan Jal preparation, family planning, mini medical camp etc. Tansen Nursing School aims to produce nursing manpower in Nepal. Though it has the capacity of 75, it has aimed to produce 30 Staff Nurse in each year. The school has been offering three years’ training on Staff Nurse selecting from the girls who have passed SLC in 2nd division or have secured higher marks in Mathematics, Science and English who apply for the course and pass the entrance exam. The catchment area of the school is all over Nepal. Hetauda Polytechnic performs with a small amount of financial support from UNESCO which has been used for preparation of Project Document, fencing of the land, Education Brief and development of detailed master plan for the project. CTEVT is seeking assistance for infrastructure and human resource development as well as equipment necessary for the Polytechnic. Hetauda Polytechnic has been conducting short term training programs on Industrial Wiring and Welding in Fiscal year 2056/57 PRIVATE INSTITUTIONS Privately run technical schools are operating with affiliation to CTEVT in different districts. Provisional recognition has been granted to private health and construction institutions, the National Computer Training Center and one hairdressing institute. Full recognition will be granted after a period of satisfactory performance and the set criteria are met. Till now, there are more than 165 affiliated private training institutes which have covered 47 districts of Nepal. These institutes have been offering courses on CMA, JTA, JT, ANM, Electrical, Mechanical, Civil, Ayurbedic, laboratory, AMIN, Carpet Weaving, Wood Works, Dental, Auto- Mechanic, Nature Pyathic, Therapy in Acupacessure, Carpentry, Welding, General Mechanics, Auto Mechanics and Food Technical Assistant. COMPUTER SOFTWARE Various computer courses, either hardware or software are well suited for the students of all levels. This is a technological field with rising enrollment. After finishing SLC and while waiting for the result, the students can best utilize their time doing these courses, either in hardware or in software. And some, who see enough future prospects and lucrative part of it, go along it and make a career despite the fact that this field has no academic degree but professional training. With mounting computer usage in our daily lives, a career in computer-related field also generates good income and earns wide recognition. FASHION DESIGNING Fashion Designing is also a lucrative career and also is a formal entrance into the field of glamour. Fashion instituted around the world offer variety of courses to train the students practically for this profession. The local institutes in Nepal offer the certificate level courses which generally run up to 4 to 8 months. In this level, students are taught computerized art designing (CAD), graphic designing etc. To join the diploma level studies one has to complete +2 or equivalent level of studies. “Students at any part of the country don’t have to feel insecure about exams.” Birendra Singh, Controller, S.L.C. Examinations Q: What percentage of the students taking S.L.C. exams this year do you think will pass the exam? A: I think it comes around 30-35%. Q: The S.L.C. pass percentage has not been a satisfactory one. What measures can be applied to raise it? A: The only way to increase the pass percentage is that the schools should teach the entire academic curriculum designed. Every school should teach 220 days in a year to do justice to the course. The teachers from every faculty and students should regularly attend the school and the guardians should check whether their children are studying sincerely or not. Q: S.L.C. examination has been held region-wise since few years. Is this process going to be made district-wise? A: You know how Myagdi incident troubled also the S.L.C. examination this year in the western region. Question papers for that region had to be prepared again. As a remedy to this sort of problems, the idea of holding SLC examinations in the district level would be kind of a rational approach but this would take quite a time. Anyway, plans are being made to make it at least zone-wise. Q: It is heard that class 12 is to be made the final school year instead of class 10. Is it true? A: If we have to synchronize our educational system with the international educational system, then we definitely need to adopt the change. We have been doing homework to conduct the final school examination at the end of class 12. When this system will be implemented the class 10 examination will then be held at district level. You find many schools these days are higher secondary schools and this in a way is the change towards making class 12 the final school year. Q: What special measures are there to sort out any problem that may take place in any of the examination centers? A: We have made necessary arrangements for immediate re-exams incase of any mishaps. The teachers, experts and the superintendent at any examination center have been given the authority to make questions themselves and to hold the exams. This way, I think students at any part of the country don’t have to feel insecure about exams. BRIDGE COURSES There is said to be a huge gap between S.L.C. and higher secondary education in Nepal. To adjust the gap, almost all the colleges provide bridge courses to the S.L.C. pass-outs. After completing S.L.C. and before joining the formal classes at any college, undergoing bride courses is a good idea especially for the students who come from the remote areas of Nepal and are weak in English. However, opting for a right institute for the bridge courses is important. Some colleges use bridge courses as a trick to attract students and taking bridge courses there won’t bear any fruits. Some institutions like Alfa Beta Institute at Putalisadak provide good bridge courses at a certain fee. The program comprises Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, TOEFL & Entrance preparation and practical classes for Pre - I. Sc and Boom, Accounts, Travel and Tourism, Economics, Finance, TOEFL for Pre-Management classes. These classes are so designed that they profoundly help S.L.C. appeared students who especially desire to study Science and Management in Higher Secondary Schools and colleges. STUDENT VIEWS ABOUT THIS YEAR’S SLC EXAMS How is the exam going on? Good What will you study after SLC? Management Why? Because management has broader scopes. Do you think the country’s present situation has probable effects on S.L.C.? Not at all. I don’t think Kathmandu has to fear from all these. (Khagendra Ghale, Holyland Public Boarding School, New Baneswor) How are you doing in exams? It’s OK up to now. It was the third paper. God knows what will happen tomorrow. Were the questions tough? No. But I am skeptical about the results. Are you not confident of passing? I am hopeful about that. What you intend to study after S.L.C.? Not decided yet. Let me wait to see what comes in mind. I am free from my family to choose it. (Nirajan Rajbhandari, Bijaya Memorial School, Dillibazar) Hope the paper was easy, right? It was OK. Won’t you pass? I hope so. What are your future plans? I will study Computer Science. Is it your preferance? Both mine and my family. (Nisan Kandel, Holyland Public Boarding School, New Baneswor) You seem OK. Yeah. I did it well. Are you opting for Science? Sure. That is my dream career. My family too prefers to see me as a doctor. Does the country’s situation have any effect on your studies? Yes. Nothing is sure whether we will complete our exams or not. (Srijana Lama, Bijaya Memorial School, Dillibazar) How you did? Fair. I will pass. What after? I will do Diploma in Engineering. Great. Is it your personal choice or…? Yes. My family has let me free to select a career for myself. (Umesh Satyal, Bijaya Memorial School, Dillibazar) -Sandeep & Sanjay Courtesy: Infotiser Fortnightly Magazine