A report in yesterday's Kathmandu Post editorial column entitled "Back to school" has strongly criticised the School Sector Reform Plan. Regular readers of this blog will know that we have become very familiar with the SSRP since it was first published in January and in fact based a lot of our recent training programmes on it's content.
The editorial has highlighted several problems specifically:
1. A pilot programme in three districts has been an unmitigated disaster
2. No statute has been passed to turn the SSRP into a formalised government project with all the necessary powers
3. No educationalists or academics were involved in it's creation
We can add to the evidence.
First when introducing the teacher development programme for Heads, teachers and guests, NOT ONE person out of around 75 present had even heard of the SSRP, despite the fact that it puts low standard schools and teachers at risk of closure and removal.
Second, the SSRP itself is quite far reaching for Nepal, but it focuses exclusively on what we have termed the HARDWARE of schools such as buildings, amenities, class size, school management processes, standards and measures. What is missing is an attempt to define reforms in school SOFTWARE, in particular the curriculum, school values & ethics, teaching practices, assessment strategies. In fact it is only when the hardware and software are combined that one can get anywhere near a definition of quality education. THIS is what needs reform in Nepal.
Is anybody out there listening?
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