Accessible Education

Dixya Poudel

Recently, the plight of students in Rukum, Nepal came to news as their education was stalled due to lack of textbooks. Teachers in Rukum sent their students home after taking attendance since there were no textbooks to teach. The fact that these students were routinely deprived of education so heedlessly and irresponsibly is deplorable. It questions the nation’s rather lagging education system. Education is irrefutably a given right to a child regardless of gender, race, class, etc. With proper learning and training, a child can grow up to a secure future while without an education the future can be rather bleak. 

College graduates fare better in the global economy as compared to the high school graduates who in turn are better off than high school dropouts. According to studies, one in five children, adolescents and the youth are out of school globally. Children could be out of school due to lack of economic support and because they have to work to help out their family. 

Further, girls are more likely to drop out of school. Then there are those children with disabilities who due to the lack of educational support and proper assistance aren’t in schools. 

The educated ones take it for granted - the ability to read and write. In 2007, a Hindi movie called Taare Zameen Par was released to critical acclaim. It was about an artistically gifted child who struggled at school due to dyslexia. Dyslexia is a learning disability that hampers skills required to read, write and spell. However, with proper training and support a dyslexic child can excel in school. There are education services and trained teachers who can lead a dyslexic student towards the path of learning. 

Yet, such services are rare in underdeveloped nations or if they do exist, not all parents can afford to educate their children with learning disability.  As Ken Robinson said, “The fact is that given the challenges we face, education doesn’t need to be reformed - it needs to be transformed. The key to this transformation is not to standardise education, but to personalise it, to build achievement on discovering the individual talents of each child, to put students in an environment where they want to learn and where they can naturally discover their true passion.’ What a discerning statement! 

While it is important that no child is left behind in education, it is equally important that the schooling be versatile, intellectually stimulating and one that places emphasis on dynamic learning. Meanwhile, emotional intelligence too should be a part of learning as to be human means to experience a range of emotional spectrum.

Today a new form of education is taking shape, one that is an amalgam of virtual and physical classes. The internet is a gift to those who are eager to learn. Prior to the internet boom, students had to go to libraries to research or else pore through the Britannica encyclopedia to learn educational materials besides the curriculum.

 A teacher-student dynamic is vital to learning but so is an inner motivation to learn through self-study. This is where internet is highly advantageous with its archive of information and knowledge that can additionally complement schooling. As a step towards an accessible education, in Nepal and throughout the world, every student should be provided equal opportunities to study.