| Username |
Post |
| ashu |
Posted
on 15-May-01 11:44 PM
Sally wrote:
>my impression is that cheating is so widespread in the
>Nepali educational system that for a reporter to
>cut-and-paste from the Internet isn't such a great
>leap from what s/he probably did during school.
Yes, cheating is really widespread in the Nepali
educational system. In Kathmandu, I have sensed that
there is this great deal of reluctance to talk openly
about this problem.
>Undigested memorization seems to be encouraged to such
>a degree that for a student to duplicate someone else's
>words is not only seen as positive--it's virtually essential
>for passing exams. It's not a big step from parroting to >plagiarism. And ultimately, what's the big difference
>between cheating and corruption? Students in the boondocks
>who pass chits through windows during the SLC in full view
>of teachers; wealthy Kathmandu parents who bribe the
>appropriate parties to secure the right marks for their
>kids in order to get them into US or British schools; those
>kind of things make the schools of Nepal a pretty good
>training ground for future plagiarists, corrupt politicians,
>and so on, don't you think?
Very well said.
I have long been puzzled as to how we can tolerate
cheating in our schools on one hand and go on to
raise hue and cry over corruption on the other hand.
>I do think it happens partly because of a feeling of >desperation, and is tolerated for the same reason. There
>are so few options right now for Nepalis to construct really >good lives that they're willing to do anything to get ahead,
>and society as a whole is willing to forgive them for it.
Sad, but true.
Still, that's no reason to lose hope. It's up yo the young
Nepali men and women in and out of Nepal to start creating
and sustaining credible, honest pockets/islands of excellence
in their own field of endeavor so that the rest of us remain
inspired and hopeful about a better future.
oohi
ashu
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| sally |
Posted
on 17-May-01 01:41 PM
Ashu wrote, "I have long been puzzled as to how we can tolerate
cheating in our schools on one hand and go on to
raise hue and cry over corruption on the other hand."
Good point. But my question is this: does the "hue and cry over corruption" go much beyond the editorial pages, the teashops, and various gatherings of folks talking over chia or Black Label (or whatever their preference may be) about how Nepal is "khatam"?
My impression is that a person who is believed to be corrupt is not particularly censured for it. Status has more to do with Pajeros, high-level government jobs and so on than with how people afford those Pajeros, what they do at those government jobs, and so on. Imagine the poor fellow from the boonies who is elected to parliament, or lands a high-level government job, but doesn't end up in a few years with a big KTM house and car and lots of gold bangles for his wife and lakhs of money to hand out to relatives and so on. Instead of being praised as honest, my sense is that far too many people would think he's some kind of fool and a failure to boot.
Another example. In a society where most marriages are arranged, and where family status is often a deciding factor, does the "hue and cry" extend to, say, refusing to marry a daughter into a family whose wealth is suspected to have come from corruption? I fear this is a rhetorical question.
Marriage arrangements and scattered negative gossip about folks with nice kurchima basne jagir who are poor but honest are just some of the many examples that come to mind. (OK, make that middle class-but-honest, since Nepal has more than it's share of genuine poor.)
Please don't take this as one more gripe about Nepal being "khatam." I happen to think that's far too fatalistic, and far from true! But when it comes to the hue and cry about corruption, I think it's just a start--and, perhaps, a bit of a smokescreen. Because it seems to me that, far too often, corruption is still tolerated. Hoina ra?
Sally
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| ashu |
Posted
on 18-May-01 02:51 AM
>Another example. In a society where most
>marriages are arranged, and where family
>status is often a deciding factor, does the "
>hue and cry" extend to, say, refusing to
>marry a daughter into a family whose wealth
>is suspected to have come from corruption? I
>fear this is a rhetorical question.
Glad you asked this question.
It so happens that a friend -- on a
month-long visit from the US -- recently
turned down a pressure-ridden offer to marry
a well-known-to-be-corrupt politician's
second daughter. (The first one had
married some doctor, now based in the
US).
That friend's reasoning?
"I have nothing against the daughter, but I
don't want to spend the rest of my life making
apologies for my father-in-law."
I think it takes an enormous amount of
self-confidence, self-respect and independence
of thought for single Nepali men and women to
even begin to think like that. Most are pressured
by their status-seeking middle- to upper-middle
parents to do god knows what.
>But when it comes to the hue and
>cry about corruption, I think it's just a
>start--and, perhaps, a bit of a smokescreen.
>Because it seems to me that, far too often,
>corruption is still tolerated. Hoina ra?
Ho.
But Web sites like this -- with open and free
and evidenced and credible discussions -- can
play their part to foster a culture of
debate/discussion to start examining our cultural
values and assumptions.
oohi
ashu
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