Baglung SEE Candidate Numbers Fall by 600 This Year
Baglung, Magh 16, 2082 (BS).
Last year, 4,845 students took the Secondary Education Examination (SEE) in Baglung. This year, the number has decreased by 600 students.
The figure has been declining each year due to factors ranging from migration to a fall in the birth rate.
School Participation Also Declining
Last year, students from 146 schools sat for the examination. This year, the number of schools has also dropped to 152.
The number of schools participating in the SEE has also decreased due to developments such as school consolidation and suspension.
Concerns Over Possible Exam Center Changes
With fewer schools, the upcoming examination appears likely to be affected. Prakash Bandhu Aryal, Chief of the Education Development and Coordination Unit, said there are possibilities ranging from a reduction in exam centers to manpower cuts.
Last year, candidates in Baglung sat the examination through 31 exam centers. With the possibility that centers could be reduced, teachers and parents are concerned.
Aryal said there will be no attempt to reduce exam centers.
He said, “An effort has been made to explain the district’s geography. There may be a matching of centers in a way that does not affect students but reduces administrative costs.”
Aryal also said that only information about the decrease in student numbers has been conveyed, and that no information has been received regarding exam centers.
Travel Burden Raised by Parents and Students
Parents complain that if exam centers are changed, children may have to travel farther and may need to stay in rented rooms.
At present, with most existing exam centers, students can commute. Arrangements for staying in rented rooms are available only in urban areas.
Some students complain that in rural areas it is difficult to find rented rooms, and that having to cook meals would affect their studies.
Teachers Argue Against Reducing Centers
A teacher argued that reducing centers would not be appropriate, as the basic costs do not change much.
He said, “Whether there are 100 candidates or 50 at an exam center, the examination can run with normal costs. But if the center is shifted, students suffer.”
Hari Chalise, Principal of Shiva Secondary School in Kandebas, Ward No. 8 of Galkot Municipality, said, “Let us not keep home centers, but exam centers located in places convenient for students should not be removed.”
Grade Improvement and Technical Stream Exams to Continue
According to Aryal, grade improvement and technical stream examinations will also continue as usual this year.
In Baglung, 10 schools will conduct technical stream examinations, as follows:
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Animal Science: 3 schools
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Plant Science: 3 schools
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Civil Engineering: 2 schools
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Computer Engineering: 2 schools
To keep the examination dignified, coordination will be carried out with municipal chairpersons, vice-chairpersons, ward chairpersons and representatives, as well as with local police posts.
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