The young people in Europe’s idyllic Nordic region take no interest in politics that is according to a Swedish study published recently. However, they reap the benefits of the earlier generations’ political activism. The studies suggest that youth are much less interested in participating in the political process in those countries. The youth mainly refers to the students. However, the truth with the developing nations (or rather underdeveloped) like Nepal is that politics is an integral part of our lifestyle. Politics is deeply rooted in every sector, including education.
As for wanting to participate in political demonstrations, the youth or say the students are less enthusiastic in Europe, Canada or the United States. However, in Nepal, the students have propensity towards politics–from schools to university campuses, one is only half student is he or she doesn’t indulge in politics and is not affiliated to one party or the other. There is little or politics in private university and colleges in Nepal. Student politics is the forte of government institutions of higher learning.
For better or worse, students have become indispensable parts of Nepali politics-the revolution of 1950 was materialized by the Nepalis studying in India; King Birendra relented to the demand of referendum after the students’ protest in 1981. Similarly, the two people’s movement of 1990 and 2006 were largely realised after students congregated in the streets of Kathmandu and elsewhere. The students have always been behind the political changes in Nepal.
But ask anyone the reason for degrading education, he or she will eventually point towards politics.
While the eight party government in Nepal was holding hectic parleys to appoint vice chancellors to the four universities of Nepal, the military backed government in Bangladesh banned party politics in the campuses. Nepalese universities were left crest fallen for a year owing to politics. The ruling major parties wanted their loyal cadres to fill the vacant posts.
After the royal coup in 1960, the royal government banned party politics. There appeared a vacuum and slowly the parties, mainly Congress and Communists seeped into educational institutions to fill the void. The king, though able to strangle the Congress and the Communists on the national scenario, failed in the campuses.
Students held such stupendous clout, the regime didn’t dare to confront them. It did once-when they protested against the hanging of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in Pakistan in 1979. The government intervention poured fuel to the students’ movement, which was later backed by political parties.
During 30 years of the partylessPanchyat order the parties indoctrinated the teachers and students. Contesting election under one banner was impossible during Panchyat but in the campus election the students had their associations.
After the political change of 1990, the students garnered open support from the parties reaching a new stature. Students bodies now have become sister organizations of the political parties. These days they burn tiers and block the traffic on the issues, which have nothing to do with them. The 10 year conflict also made the schools the playground for indoctrination to the insurgents. Today, politics has seeped to school level.
In Myanmar (Burma), there used to be so much politics in the education sector that the students spent all their time participating in demonstrations as part of national politics. When Junta came in to power in 1968 in Burma, it closed universities and campuses. The institutions were opened after two years when the guardians and parents agreed to ban politics. A democratic Nepal cannot emulate Dhaka or Myanmar, but as long as educational institutions are centres of party politics, educational will continue to suffer.
Politics in Education
The recent news from the UK says students have demonstrated against the fee-hike in the education sector, they have even vandalized the car in which Prince Charles was travelling. This incident from the developed world also matches with the happening of our developing country. Few weeks earlier students in different parts of Nepal protested against the Tribhuvan University (TU) decision to raise campus fees. They resorted to destroying property of the institution they were studying in. The angry management then halted the examinations. Likewise, sometimes back, when the TU phased out PCL level different student bodies held demonstrations against the promulgation.
Its truism, Nepali youths are ingrained in party politics though very few find a niche in mainstream politics. Students who do politics all through their college and university days rarely annex the leadership of any political party, however, they have propensity towards politics – from schools to university campuses. We don’t see politics in private university and colleges but they cater to pretty low numbers. When we say politicised education, we mainly mean the Tribhuvan University and its campuses. And this is where it pinches our shoes because TU is the one which has the largest share in educating Nepalis.
Quality of education differs from the government-owned institutions and private, thanks to politics. The TU has more than 65 campuses under its belt but there is cleavage compared to private operated colleges and private university. Politics is deep rooted in the government sponsored universities and campuses. Our education sector is so much politicised that in a program in Kathmandu, the Maoist Chairman and former Prime Minister Prachanda beckoned the students to turn universities and colleges and they be armies.
Going through the political history of 60 years, we can find students of this troubled nation have spurred the uprisings numerous times. And we must admit they deserve a space in nation-building. Likewise, I have to remind the readers, the youth have taken incentives like demonstrating against authoritarian regimes, campaigning for democracy and the likes. Yet, political incisiveness of young people has also marred education in Nepal. Politics has done worse rather than good to the colleges and universities, mostly those under the government belt. One recent example is the postponing of TU examinations – that had already been delayed – for the convention of ANFSU-Revolutionary.
During ten years of conflict, the most affected were the students as both the parties in conflict made schools their playground. The situation hasn’t improved in these post-conflict days. Schools are being frequently closed owing to the dissenting thoughts of students’ political bodies, operators of schools, and parents and teachers’ associations.
In a book entitled “Innovative Program”, Mahatma Gandhi has expressed views that, students must never participate in party politics or be a political cadre but rather must pursue for knowledge and intelligence. They may express solidarity with national leaders but must not go for political strike. He believed students are the glimmer of hope in every sectors of life in a nation. However, they must not be allowed to mingle with political parties. Politics of governance must be like alien thing to the students.
Contrarily, his own country is too far away from his teachings on education and students. And to talk about Nepal, students’ political participation has created a total mess in the education. Like Gandhi’s saying, today students have achieved their downfall with their political participation and hence would be unable to serve the nation.
No doubt our campus and universities are politicised, but our students have also become indispensable part of every political change that Nepal witnessed so far – 1950, 1981, 2046 and 2006. Nepal was able to over the Rana regime and establish democracy in 1950 because of the participation of Nepalis studying in India, the concept of democratic Nepal was in fact hatched in India. When Pakistan hanged Bhutto in 1979, Nepali students’ held demonstration that was later backed by the banned political parties especially the Nepali Congress. King Birendra had to promulgate referendum in 1981. It is well known fact that students had large participation in the people’s movement of 1990 and 2006. Contrarily, ask anyone the reason for degrading education, he/she would eventually point towards politics.
Party politics in educational institutions is rife in Nepal. For better or worse it all started with the royal coup of 1960. When the democracy was replaced with partylessPanchyat, the royal government banned party politics in the country. In absence of open politics there appeared a political a vacuum and slowly the parties, mainly Congress and the Communist, began to indoctrinate teachers and students because they were only the ones who could understand the true meaning of freedom and democracy. When the mainstream politic was strangulated it seeped into educational institutions to fill the void. The state was able to hinder the Congress and the Communists’ manoeuvrings in the national scenario, however, bungled to do same in the educational institutions.
After the establishment of parliamentary democracy in 1990, the students who had been largely indoctrinated by the political parties found open support from the leaders. Different students’ bodies then became sister organizations of the political parties. These the students vouch for the policies of the political parties that back them. They not only demonstrate against every issue that their leaders oppose but also campaign in the general elections. They obstruct traffic and vandalize state’s property on the issues that do not necessarily concern education sector directly.
Politics in the educational institutions has created a mess. And what is more frustrating than Prachanda, the leader of the largest party in the legislative-parliament, addressing his speech to the students in the vicinity of educational institution saying he hasn’t come to talk about education. The politician want students to become puppets of the party by becoming militia, and the sister organization halts the examinations for the sake of its convention.