At a time when hundreds of public schools in Nepal are reeling under the crunch of teaching staff, a government school in Mahottari district boasts of more teachers than it actually requires.

1. School hires unnecessary teachers under political pressure
At a time when hundreds of public schools in Nepal are reeling under the crunch of teaching
staff, a government school in Mahottari district boasts of more teachers than it actually requires.
As per the government´s Per Child Fund (PCF) policy, one teacher would be sufficient for 40
students. But Radha Lower Secondary School, in Itaharwakatti VDC of the district, where a total
of 41 students are enrolled, there are as many as 17 teachers.
Locals say the school kept hiring teachers who were not required under pressure from various
political parties. As it is burdened with providing monthly salaries to so many teaching staff, the
school has not been able to repair its building, desks and benches. Many of the classrooms do not
even have roofs.
Although the condition of Radha Lower Secondary School reflects the sorry state of public
education in Mahottari district, many public schools across the country lack proper physical
infrastructures. Some schools have not been able to upgrade physical infrastructures despite
receiving budget from the District Education Office (DEO). "In some schools, even the available
physical infrastructure is not being utilized," said Arbinda Lal Karna, Mahottari´s District
Education Officer.
To take stock of the state of public education in Mahottari, the DEO recently conducted surprise-checks
across the district. In the course of inspection, the Mahottari DEO found that many
schools have not utilized budget meant for upgrading physical infrastructures but have hired
more teachers just to appease local political leaders.
The Mahottari DEO has issued a 55-point directive asking all schools not to hire more teachers
than required and to utilize the budget meant for repairing and upgrading of physical
infrastructures.
"We issued this directive after consultations with School Management Committees, teacher
organizations and civil society members," said Karna. However, skeptics say the directive is
unlikely to bring about any positive change due to lack of regular and effective monitoring.