Ever dreamed of teaching? If you are a recent graduate or even an undergraduate, a path has been opened for recent graduates to be volunteer teachers in community schools. The University Grants Commission (UGC) Nepal recently passed a volunteer-based programme and its management guidelines for all interested ones.
“We have created scientific guidelines and procedures in this regard and are conducting extensive research to move forward,” says Dev Raj Adhikari, the UGC chairman.
Given the lack of subject-specific teachers and the declining quality of education at community schools, the government introduced this programme to send students studying in higher grades as volunteer teachers. According to him, volunteer teachers can work in any field.
According to the notice issued by the commission on Monday, the period of volunteering will be three months. During that time, the volunteer teachers will receive Rs 3,000 to 5,000 as transportation allowance and a monthly allowance of Rs 30,000 to 32,000. “This is the proposed amount we set, but we are yet to get final approval from the Ministry of Finance,” the officer says.
How will volunteer teachers be selected?
Students enrolled in the universities will get the opportunity on a point-based system. Volunteer teachers will be selected by the universities and given an appointment letter. One can volunteer for over three months also, but the allowance will only be available for three months as of now.
A university scores its students based on their qualifications, attendance, and desired field. Their minimum educational qualification has been determined as undergraduate or graduate level.
In the evaluation scheme, people’s educational qualification is worth 30 points, their attendance is worth 30 points and the score they obtain in the final exam is worth 30 points. Lastly, 10 points will be given for the region they choose. If anyone wants to go to a remote area, they will get more points. If a candidate has scored a grade A, they will score 30 points out of 100 and if they have a grade B, they will get 25 points.
Hopes and fears
The aim of involving students studying in higher education in volunteering is to connect their education with work. The officials believe that this approach will lead to the resolution of the current problems caused by the lack of teachers and the hindrance to students’ skills.
Tribhuvan University Rector Shiva Lal Bhusal says, “Many schools face problems because they do not have teachers in their desired subjects. So, we hope when students who have completed their master’s or bachelor’s embark on the journey to teach the relevant subjects, they teach well and also consider teaching as a profession in the future, and grow from there.”
However, experts in the education sector are sceptical about whether these appointments would be free from political interference and factionalism.
Shortage of teachers
Under the Education Act (1971), the government fixed the minimum number of teachers at a school. As per the act, there should be at least seven teachers at a higher secondary school (teaching up to grade 12), five at a secondary school (teaching up to grade 10), and at least four at a primary school (teaching grades 1-8). In addition, there should be at least three teachers for grades 1-5 and two for grades 1-3.
However, many government schools do not meet this minimum requirement for teachers. Even if there are teachers, the lack of competent teachers has hindered effective teaching-learning systems.
According to the Centre for Education and Human Resource Development, there is a shortage of around 45,000 teachers at community schools, particularly in subjects such as science, mathematics, agriculture and English.
Before this announcement, some local authorities had been taking the initiative and calling for volunteer teachers to manage the scarcity of teachers.
This story was translated from the original Nepali version and edited for clarity and length.
