Education in the War
During times of war, one of the most commonly violated Human Rights is that of education. In this war, schoolhouses were targeted as centers for Maoists to “reeducate” students and teachers, and both the rebels and the government forces kidnapped students to use them as combatants, spies, porters, and messengers in the army. Maoists also entered schools and made children dig bunkers around the school building so that the army could use it as protection during crossfire [5]. Clearly, schools were extremely dangerous places to be during this time, and children experienced physical and psychological damage from these encounters.
Not only were schools unsafe, but often the nearest ones were a few hours away on foot. Parents lived in fear for their children’s journey to and from school, not knowing if they had been abducted by armies or hurt in crossfire [1]. In some cases, students were grateful for the Maoist presence in their classrooms because it diminished the corruption of abusive or money-seeking teachers. However, there are more cases in which the Maoist presence negatively impacted schools, and there is no sufficient evidence to say that they improved the status of education [5].
Because war impacts all elements of a country, the deterioration of the status of the Nepalese classroom carried over into teacher education. In 2006, it was estimated that only one-third of all primary teachers in Nepal had received training, inevitably lowering the value of children’s education and likeliness of success. This caused many parents to send their children to private schools, with numbers as high as one-fifth of all Nepalese children attending private institutions. This shift has made the differences in the quality of education very apparent, and it is becoming even more important for these issues to be addressed [5].
Not only were schools unsafe, but often the nearest ones were a few hours away on foot. Parents lived in fear for their children’s journey to and from school, not knowing if they had been abducted by armies or hurt in crossfire [1]. In some cases, students were grateful for the Maoist presence in their classrooms because it diminished the corruption of abusive or money-seeking teachers. However, there are more cases in which the Maoist presence negatively impacted schools, and there is no sufficient evidence to say that they improved the status of education [5].
Because war impacts all elements of a country, the deterioration of the status of the Nepalese classroom carried over into teacher education. In 2006, it was estimated that only one-third of all primary teachers in Nepal had received training, inevitably lowering the value of children’s education and likeliness of success. This caused many parents to send their children to private schools, with numbers as high as one-fifth of all Nepalese children attending private institutions. This shift has made the differences in the quality of education very apparent, and it is becoming even more important for these issues to be addressed [5].