On Scrapping Of Primary Level Exams

 The new government under Prime Minister Balendra Shah or Balen has released its 100-point action plan, where different schemes are listed to be completed within 100 days. These actions are related to various fields and one of them is education. Among others, it highlights abolishing the formal examination system from the coming academic session for students in grades 1 to 5. The plan claims this will reduce academic pressure on young learners, which is absolutely true. However, there are a lot of reservations.

While I was reading the news, I started to reflect on my PhD days. When I first took my son to get admission in a primary school in Victoria, Australia, in 2008, he was in grade four. The first thing I noticed was that there were no textbooks at all, and secondly, they would not give formal examinations to primary level students. This kind of education system made me worried, as these two were the key elements of our education system. The other parents who had newly arrived in Australia, particularly from Asian countries, also shared the same feeling. 

Examination system

These parental worries led me to conduct my PhD research on how literacy teaching and learning happen in primary schools in Victoria, Australia. This research drew a lot of invaluable information related to continuous learning and assessment. There is no doubt that the traditional examination system encourages students' rote learning and it does not seem to be suitable in today's world. Unfortunately, almost all of the Nepali parents and teachers have come from a background of the traditional education system, which considers a formal examination as the most effective way to assess learning outcomes.

The role of teachers is very important in implementing the things suggested by policymakers. For this, they must be qualified enough, well-trained and well-informed. The major questions here are: Are the teachers who teach in grades 1 to 5 capable of using the alternative evaluation system confidently? Do they have access to the resource materials that they need? Have they received enough training for this? Is continuous guidance available to them?  The other chief stakeholder of education is parents. So, how will they take the governmental decision to abolish all sorts of internal examinations? Were they consulted before making the decision? Will they accept this normally? Such questions automatically arise in someone's mind when it comes to trying something new.

Well, in principle, it is said that the formal examinations have already been abolished in grades 1 to 3. But what is in practice? Are teachers using the alternative techniques of evaluation in reality? Is there any strong follow-up mechanism? I do not think schools are seriously following the newly introduced system of no formal examinations, but continuous evaluation. In documentation, everything looks fine but on the ground level, the same traditional practice is being continued in most of the contexts. The most challenging part of abolishing internal examinations is its implementation throughout the country. 

In urban areas, it may be possible if the schools try hard but in rural areas where students do not even have proper school buildings, classrooms or furniture, this sounds like a far cry. In such areas, the only resource material teachers have is a textbook and their ultimate evaluation method is formal examinations. I agree that primary level students do not need formal examinations, as they do not measure their real capacities. During this time, they are curious to learn many things. So, they must be exposed to different subject areas, which can make their learning interesting and enjoyable. In such a learning environment, gradually, teachers can identify students' favourite subject areas, their talents or their inclinations. This helps teachers to encourage students to hone their strengths.

Even if this is the case, in the context of Nepal, introducing the new evaluation system abruptly may not achieve the expected results. There are several issues to address before implementing something new in classrooms. First of all, there must be an extensive research study including all the stakeholders, such as teachers, parents, students, curriculum designers or textbook writers and it must cover participants from all geographical regions. Their views guide the government to make wise decisions. Secondly, the concerned teachers must be trained in alternative ways of assessment and they must be provided with continuous guidance and support. 

Sufficient resources 

The schools must have sufficient resource materials; only having a textbook as their instructional material, teachers cannot implement an alternative evaluation system in their class. Among all, the most important factor is a regular and strong follow-up mechanism. The usual practice of teacher training in Nepal has seemed to be merely a formality so far. Teachers participate in such training programmes only for a salary increment, but not to bring positive changes in their teaching methods. They may be reluctant to use whatever they have learned due to the lack of follow-up. If they had been followed up regularly the situation of community schools would have improved a lot. 

It is a natural phenomenon to resist something new in the beginning but if you cannot get away from it, you gradually start to accept it. If teachers realise that they will be going to be observed once they complete their training and go back to their classroom, they will obviously use the knowledge, skills or strategies that they have gained. Otherwise, they follow the same traditional method, which they find easy and comfortable. If everything works perfectly, then the abolition of formal paper-and-pencil tests in grades 1 to 5 sounds great. This gives students more room for enjoyable and exploratory learning.  

(Published in an English Daily The Rising Nepal on Friday, April 3, 2026 ) 

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Bring Strict Law Against Rapists

 Last time I raised an issue of the Epstein files, which disclosed how the world leaders may also have been involved in sex trafficking. However, this is yet to be proved. The Epstein case indicates that girls or women are vulnerable everywhere around the world. And Nepal is not an exception. For the last couple of weeks, the Nepali media has been continuously publishing news reports about Inisha BK, who was a victim of gang rape and murder. There are different protests being organized asking for justice. 

Inisha was just a 16-year-old girl who aspired to be a doctor but unfortunately, her dream was shattered by some insensitive and foolish boys who were accused of being rapists and murderers. Not only this, her parents had lost their son a decade ago and now their only child had also gone because of someone's brutality. Inisha is only an example; there are several cases of rape every day in Nepal. Since 2018, Nirmala Panta's parents have been waiting for justice for their daughter, who was raped and murdered like Inisha. 

Rising rape cases 

The available data shows that on average, seven women and girls are being raped daily in the country. Annually, the rape cases have increased by roughly 20 per cent. These are only reported cases; in most of the situations, victims cannot raise their voice because of different social or familial reasons.  A UNICEF report states that more than 370 million girls and women or one in eight, experienced rape or sexual assault before the age of 18. Females are struggling worldwide for their safety. 

Even if rape is not socially acceptable at any cost, why men are prone to this unacceptable act? There are several research studies conducted to find the answer of this question. Their findings suggest that primarily it is a production of patriarchal society where men feel proud to execute violence, power and control over women rather than just satisfying their sexual desire. Other reasons include psychological factors, substance abuse, racism and poverty.

Some people may think that it is only a problem in some poor Asian or African countries but in the developed countries such as France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, New Zealand or America, the rape cases are equally reported. In fact, it is a worldwide issue. What is surprising to learn is that countries with stronger legal protections often have higher reported rape figures.

Different countries across the world have strong laws against sexual assault to make their societies a safer place, particularly for women. For instance, a rapist in India has a punishment of life imprisonment to death sentence, for a similar case, a death sentence is applied in Pakistan as well, and China has a death sentence or castration. In Saudi Arabia, the punishment for rape is a public beheading. In North Korea, the rapists get a death sentence by firing squad. Similarly, they are shot in the head in Afghanistan. 

Other countries where there is a death penalty for rapists are Egypt and Iran. The USA itself has life imprisonment for such criminals. When it comes to Nepal, there is only imprisonment, which ranges from 10 to 25 years according to the age of the victims and the nature of rape, such as gang rape, marital rape or incestual rape. This sort of punishment does not seem to be as strong as in other countries mentioned here.  Although there is a high demand for the death penalty by lawmakers and the general public, it has not been passed into law yet. 

In the context of Nepal, some strategies can be used that may help to decrease rape cases. First of all, it is very important to empower girls. They must not feel inferior to boys. When they sense some kind of filthy intention of boys, they must stop them then and there. There is a tendency to blame victims, e.g., questioning their clothing or objecting to their openness, which the girls must realise is not true. If there is some kind of physical or verbal defense training, it will be very helpful. 

Most of all, sex education is very important in our schools. The students must receive age-appropriate content related to human sexuality. If they are well informed regarding their body, they may not want to engage in unhealthy experimentation with sex. Coming back to Inisha's case, one of the boys is said to be her boyfriend; can a boyfriend be so ruthless? Whatever statement he gave to the police is not convincing and what is more important is that his statement and Inisha's postmortem report do not match. 

Public skepticism 

Currently, there has been a news story that one of the four alleged boys' fathers said that if his son is found guilty, he can be punished by hanging and he will not have any objection to this. As a father, he has made a big statement but the public seems to be quite skeptical about whether he is telling the truth. The case is still under investigation. 

I truly hope Inisha BK's case should not be pending like Nirmala Panta's or dismissed like many others'. She must get justice sooner rather than later. Every girl has a right to feel safe. Now we are on the verge of forming the new government that must review the law related to the punishment system for rapists. At least life imprisonment needs to be introduced, if not the death penalty. If there is a strong punishment system, a rapist will always think twice before committing a crime.

(Published in an English Daily The Rising Nepal on Friday, March 20, 2026 ) 

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Women Continue To Face Sexual Abuse

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a milestone document in the history of human rights. It was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly  in 1948. The UDHR defines human rights as universal, inalienable, and inherent entitlements belonging to every person, regardless of status, based on the principle that all people are born free and equal in dignity.  However, there is a big question: 'Even though these rights are protected by international law, are they implemented in reality?'

Recently, a news story related to the Epstein files was published by the international media, which made people's eyes go wide open. The release of these files triggers a public debate globally. When I read about Jeffrey Epstein, I got furious. How can people be so cruel to children? In fact, he has been on news since 2005 when his criminal activities were exposed. That year, the Florida police started investigating him when the parents of a 14-year-old girl reported that she had been molested at the millionaire's home in Palm Beach. Epstein turned to be a wealthy convicted sex offender. 

Sex trafficking 

He was arrested in 2019 on federal charges of sex trafficking of minors. It is said that the same year, he died by suicide in jail while awaiting trial on sex trafficking and conspiracy charges. This year the US Department of Justice has published more than three million additional pages related to the Epstein files. What is surprising in this document is that many high-profile world people are listed there who seemed to be somehow connected to Jeffrey Epstein. These people include Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Sarah Ferguson, Ehud Barak, Donald Trump, Bill Clinton and many others. 

Appearing in the documents, however, does not mean that there is any implication of wrongdoing. Still, these people may be under surveillance until the investigation is complete. We all know that America is one of the most democratic countries in the world. In such a country, children are also not safe and what can we expect in places like ours? Human trafficking is the biggest problem in Nepal as well, where women and girls are the most vulnerable. Anuradha Koirala, a social activist and the founder of Maiti Nepal, has been fighting against this issue for years and the problem remains the same. Who doesn't know about a 13-year old girl, Nirmala Panta? She was found raped and murdered in 2018. Sadly, justice for her has not been delivered yet.

The other day, I heard a terrible story of a woman from Arghakhachi who was extremely tortured physically and mentally by her own husband. She was kept hostage in a house by him. She was sexually abused every day, because of which her vagina was torn up. She could not hold either her urine or stool, as both of them came out from the same organ. To terrorise her, the husband used to put a knife to her chest while sleeping. The couple had two children and the father had threatened them not to tell anything to anyone; if they did, he would kill their mother and them as well. So, the children were terrified. 

Luckily, the son was able to take a photograph of her mother with a knife on her chest and show it to the local social activists. Eventually, she was rescued by them after living a hellish life for nearly one and a half years. Let's take another case of Shobha Pathak, who has a lot of allegations against a CPN-UML leader, Mahesh Basnet. She claims that she got married to Basnet but he denied the fact and abandoned her. She shouts now and then that she has not got justice. She even blames the KP Sharma Oli-led government for covering Basnet's truth. She is still fighting her battle in the court. 

These are only a few examples. Every day, there are news stories published which are related to child marriage, child abuse, forced marriage, dowry, rape, domestic violence, murder, sexual harassment or gender discrimination. In most of the cases, females are the victims. We talk about Women's rights or children's rights but these rights may not be experienced by all of the concerned people. A UN report shows that around 50,000 women and girls worldwide were killed in 2024, most by family members. The same report says that a French woman, Gisele Pelicot, was drugged by her husband and raped by dozens of men while she was unconscious for over nine years. 

Domination 

Whether it is in Nepal or elsewhere in the world, it is seen that more powerful people dominate the less powerful ones. Historically, this power has been given to men based on patriarchal norms. The label attached to women as the 'weaker sex' seems to be persistent at some level. This may be the reason why some men mistreat women and girl children. They should not forget that everybody has equal rights in all spheres of life. 

Human civilization has come this far but the savagery of the ancient society follows in one or another form. Even if this is the case, we should not stop raising our voice continuously against each and every sort of discrimination until we are heard and appropriate action is taken. At the same time, we should be watchful that some people always want to silence our voice to prove their superiority or power. The fight for human rights goes on and on.

(Published in an English Daily The Rising Nepal on Friday, March 6, 2026 ) 

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