Civic Education for the Youth

Seminar organized by Nepal Foundation for Advanced Studies

30 May 2005, Tansen

Nirmal Shrestha, a local who moderated the function, had helped bring together the cream of Palpa society-teachers, a major target group of the seminar, students, journalists and even politicians including former parliamentarians of different hue. Shiva Raj Dahal made the presentation on Civic Education for the Youth after a background presentation by Prof. Guninidhi Sharma after which the floor was opened for discussion.

The discussions were fruitful for the paper writer who was seeking suggestions to be incorporated in finalizing his article which will ultimately form part of the book on civic education that NEFAS is planning to publish. Some of the participants were, however, more intent on discussing the political situation in the country than actually making any significant contribution to this effort. It was therefore no surprise to find that the discussion had gone past the scheduled lunch time proving that people are energized by any discussion regarding the need to strengthen democracy during this crucial time in the country-not to mention such a politically charged crowd as that of Tansen, Palpa. Yaspal Shakya, a teacher of repute in this western town, had chaired the session.

After Prof. Ananda Shrestha, the executive director of NEFAS, introduced the theme of the seminar in his welcome address Prof. Gunanidhi Sharma made a presentation of the economic background responsible for the disarray in the youth sector which has posed as a grave challenge for democracy itself. He also presented the challenges brought on by today's competitive world in righting those economic ills.

This was followed by the presentation of the main theme of the seminar by Shiva Raj Dahal which then led to the floor discussions.

MAIN POINTS FROM THE FLOOR COMMENTS

• Absence of civic education may have played its part in bringing about the conflict we have in the country today. Egoistical sentiments have been aggravating the conflict.
• Religious contexts of peace should be included in the civic education. For example, Lord Buddha has shown eight paths to peace: Love, [love your health by abstaining from drugs and other diversions to be able to contribute to the nation, this will lead to love of the neighbourhood and then ultimately to love of the nation], politeness, non-aggression, realization of the fact that what happens to others can also happen to you, equal treatment, friendship, mercy and samadhi.
• Civic education can also be used to stop the outward migration of the youth energy which is bringing home burdens such as AIDS for us to deal with.
• Civic education should give a positive message to the youth about democracy. It also helps to dispel the myth that democracy is all bad. People have been turned away from politics today. But civic education should be able to change that.
• I still feel that there is despair everywhere at present. There is a lot of focus on the negatives. Only weaknesses are being explored. The paper too has not refrained from that. We need to show some positive aspects of the past 15 years of multiparty rule as well. I agree that corruption was rampant, but the parties have already accepted their mistakes and this should have been explained by the paper. It was during the 14 years that anti-corruption bodies came up. If these aspects were added in the paper, this would help dispel the negative attitude towards democracy.
• The main problem of the youth should also have been dealt with in the paper. The impact of the armed conflict has flushed the youth out of the country and there is problem in having these people stay home.
• Also the state of democracy today should have been explained and whether there are weaknesses in its functioning. And also what are the ways to remedy them?
• The youth mentioned by the paper appear to be those in politics only. It only deals with the past 14 years of multiparty democracy. Before that, too, there were weaknesses and which have not been discussed. Even today, there is a section against which we do not speak. There is a section against which too much discussion takes place. The youth that the paper talks about do not appear to be here at the seminar. Regarding corruption, there has always been corruption, not only during the past 14 years. Regarding social transformation, we have youth in foreign lands and those in the villages doing their daily chores and there are also others. Can the paper cover them all?
• The desire for peace in a democracy is irreplaceable and this needs to be emphasized. Since everything is rooted in economics, the economic aspect needs to be emphasized by the writer.
• Not everything is because of weaknesses in a democracy. The paper should have focused more on the Nepalese family [not just the public].
• The school curriculum does not contextualize the Nepalese issues. Such contextualization need to be done at the local level, so that the course of study makes sense to the students.
• Family values are to be blamed here as well. Parents do not tell their wards to develop their political personalities. Instead they tell them to work towards being teachers, doctors and the like. A change in behaviour is only possible through the commitment of teachers, parents and neighbourhoods. They should not only go with the times and justify the prevailing political systems, whatever they are.
• The paper needs to be more positive about the democratic experience in the country and not only the negative. This is not good for the overall society as it will only be receiving negative messages.
• The economically active population which covers more than half of the population are the youth of today. They appear to be the most victimized. There is materialism in the urban areas pushing the youth towards earning ever more money to avail themselves of the materialistic goodies.
• Girl trafficking, drug abuse, victimization of women by husbands are all problems faced in the youth sector.
• Why have the youth been misdirected? It is the lack of leadership qualities in the leaders that has been responsible? It is the leaders who should groom the younger generation to shoulder more responsibility.
• Politics is sacred and there is a lot of sacrifice needed for that. But this has been forgotten today. Politicians think that theirs is just another profession. This has given a bad name to politics. We need to give them proper direction.
• We do not need to study political science to be politicians today. If it were so, we would have been more knowledgeable and more suited to their jobs. Liberty too has it limits. The citizen should seek his rights as a citizen not as a subject.
• Children do not have any morality today. In such a context, civic education is a good thing. But I suggest NEFAS hold seminars in more rural areas like Rolpa and Rukum. This would make the seminar more fruitful.
• Not only the Plus Two classes but lower secondary students need to have civic education. In fact, technical education like hair styling needs to be introduced at the primary level and should go on right up to the university, so that even if the students fall out of schools they will not need to lie idle and can get employed with ease. This would direct a lot of youth energy away from unproductive areas like conflict.
• Many youngsters involved in the Maoist movementhave little understanding of the Maoist doctrine and ideology. They are either those with a little schooling or from a low income family. The youngster is neither being looked after by the family, nor by the school, nor by the state. Such persons have been found to have had a good refuge in the Maoist organization. The Dalits or the women or the other marginalized groups all have their own dimensions added to this mainstream problem. They too have found the Maoists a good refuge.
• The democratic leadership could not carry out the necessary social transformation. Information started flooding from all directions through the growing media sector and the new media but we could not distribute the opportunities to manage the new and burgeoning aspirations. Worse, we were slowly developing a two party system. This brings us to the need to have an inclusionary system. This may require us to talk of restructuring the state.
• NEFAS has been carrying out these discussions for years. The civic education book needs to be introduced to the high schools as well, although all the issues that have been raised cannot be included in the proposed new book.
• Please also talk about the negative impact of the audio visual materials today on the youth and ways to mitigate it. School students are badly affected by the easily available materials. We need to deal with this aspect effectively.
• We see a lot of problems in the youth sector for lack of employment oriented education. Patriotism is lacking in the youth as we saw that even at times when borders are being encroached or while the government enters into agreements regarding natural resources the young generation could not be energized into acting.
• Ethnic inequality or social injustice are all contributing to people joining the Maoist group.
• Dalit youth have had to leave their villages as it is impossible to remain there due to exploitation by higher castes. We hear that they have also joined the Maoists as there is no casteism within that organization. Education should be such that students do not know the caste they belong to so that such exploitation ceases to exist in the society. Similar is the problem of women requiring similar solutions.
• The education system is lacking in many respects as it does not given students the relevant knowledge. The society is unequal and exploitative. This is hitting hard the students of the poor and lower class and caste categories.
• There is no respect for labour. People prefer working in menial jobs abroad rather than doing the work in their own country.
• State policy is promoting the export of manpower. And this has been happening not only now, but from before. If this continues, we will have to start sending whole families, whether for security or for just plain living. We need to look for ways to employ this huge resource right here.
• Alternative employment opportunities will stop the trend of out migration for employment. Also traditional employment traditions are being shunned. Why? If we find the answer we will be able to keep the manpower home.
• It is not because of political leadership that youths have been out-migrating. Parties have not asked the youths to leave.
• Not every politician and administrator is corrupt. Not only Parliamentary behaviour and political parties are responsible for the youths turning away from politics, there are other factors as well.
• The multiparty rule only lasted 12 years not 14. The two years were ruled by the cabinet that the King chose. Please present a better perspective on the political parties in the paper.
• Please treat the media separately in civic education, just like you have done with other sectors.
• While talking about civic education to the youth, also include the age group and the specific sector that needs to be targetted. The lower class does not need such education. It is only the well-to-do class that needs it.
• The paper identifies problems but does not come out with solutions.
• The traditions are eroding and deviations adding up as time goes by. Corruption is limited not only to politicians. Our tradition is replete with it. Parents encourage you to earn more and it does not matter how you do it. Also traditional rituals will have to made understandable to the youth.
• There is no criteria for politicians to take government posts. Meritocracy is not respected. This means that there can be no betterment of the polity without amending such a system.

Ananda Srestha [NEFAS executive director]: Our objective is to make the students politically conscious, not push them toward any particular party line.

Secondly, regarding holding seminars in other places, we do have the plan to go to many places. It is the security situation that has limited our activities.

We raise issues, and publish books and provide materials for readers. Whether policymakers use the material for positive reasons or not is not our responsibility. Please do not blame us for not implementing our findings. As an academic organization, we have our limitations.

Reply by author
The suggestions that have come forth from the floor will be very useful in enriching the publication. We have been providing books to readers which have proved useful for many at school and university levels. But we cannot demand that the government implement our ideas, we just make them available for those who require it.

Please understand that political parties should not only be involved in struggle for political power. They should also be involved in social transformation.

Chairman's remark by Yaspal Shakya
The subject matter and the participants have all stressed on the deviations brought on by materialism. We do need to give the youth the moral and religious knowledge as it is disappearing in today's youth.

We have youngsters who relish enjoying at someone else's expense. This means a decline in the moral values. But at the same time we will also have to avoid the dogmas that are harmful.

We need to change ourselves before we pledge to change others.
We have seen that we were all against each other, one party against the other, but when the threat came to all of us at the same time, we have united. This is not healthy for democracy in the long run. We do not need to be pushed into preserving democracy. We have to work beforehand for that to be sustainable.

Corruption or the monopoly of power by octogenarians are issues that should interest the youth, in spite of the good things that happened during the multiparty rule. Let the youth be able to come forth capably so that they can shoulder the responsibility for a prosperous future of the nation.