KATHMANDU: Higher number of girl students appearing the Secondary Education Examination (SEE) does not signify an end to gender bias among parents. A closer look reveals that discrimination between a son and daughter is stubbornly persistent.
Of the total 475,003 SEE students, number of boys is 2, 36,445 whereas the number of girl students is slightly higher standing at 2, 38,558.
However, the fact is that most of the girl students are from community schools. Quality of education in community schools is often inferior compared to that of private schools where students are taught in English medium.
A total of 118,807 girls attending the SEE examination are from community schools. Only 56,751 girls are from private schools, according to the Office of the Controller of Examinations.
Chairperson of the Private and Boarding Schools Association of Nepal (PABSON) Rituraj Sapkota said PABSON’s role in increasing the number of girl students at private schools is ineffective. Unless parents start treating their children as equal PABSON alone cannot reduce the gender gap at private schools, said Sapkota.
Educationist, Dr. Mana Prasad Wagley views that the private schools need to be gradually closed in order to end social discrimination in education. It may be noted that the high-level national education commission had in its report recommended making private schools service-oriented.
In the meanwhile, renowned actress Karishma Manandhar and law maker Shanta Chaudhari are also attending the SEE exam this year.
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