Education ‘bad’ in Nepal

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32778, 1 December 1971, Page 10

Education ‘bad’ in Nepal

Some Nepalese thought that education turned girls into witches and boys into thieves—and this belief was to some extent justified, Dr G. Scott-Brown said in Christchurch.

“Many young Nepalese have received up to six years schooling but cannot find jobs or afford a high school education,” said Dr ScottBrown, the director of the International Nepal Fellowship. “They are left in a sort of half-baked semi-edu-cated state and sit around their villages doing nothing with pens tucked in their back pockets.”

FARMING UNPOPULAR There was now a glut of such people—a situation which paralleled, on a larger scale, the problem faced by the arts graduate in New Zealand. Two solutions were a greater general literacy and a - more vocational form of education, especially for farming. “Specialised training is provided in the best schools, but then those who can afford these schools do not want to be farmers. They are all prospective lawyers or diplomats,” said Dr ScottBrown.

A school in every village was now compulsory under Nepalese law, but the fear of education had often reduced attendance from the expected 1500 pupils to 15. “In many schools in the west, the number of pupils is neat zero,” he said. ISOLATED WEST

Problems of education were only a small part of what Dr Scott-Brown faced during the 11 years he has spent teaching and tending medicinal and surgical needs of the Nepalese. In February

he travelled to western Nepal, which is without roads or electricity and “bleak beyond measure.” “We were constantly attacked and cut off by snow. The country is very high and the people extremely isolated. Leprosy up there is a terrific problem, and goitre incidence is almost unequalled anywhere else in the world. About 10 per cent suffer from the mental illness inherent in goitre,” he said. “The public health , needs are tremendous—we are only beginning to do something through our public health campaigns. Our visits to various villages have been most rewarding; already there are signs of improvement.” Walking throughout the country, in which nothing under 20,000 ft was called a mountain, could often be fascinating, Dr Scott-Brown said. There was a constant change of scenery and one could walk for miles on tracks through the picturesque rhododendron forests. The people everywhere were very friendly, offering the visitor a bed for the night and a meal of rice and curry, followed by a talk until 3 am. or 4 a.m.

Since his arrival in Nepal in 1960, Dr Scott-Brown has assumed the roles of surgeon, physician, missionary leader, language teacher and numerous secondary responsibilities. As a surgeon, he said typhoid, dysentery and tuberculosis cases were among the 12,000 patients in the bigger hospitals. As a language teacher, it was his job to teach newcomers to speak Nepalese, a task which normally took about two years. CHRISTIAN BODY

The purpose of the International Nepal Fellowship was primarily educational and medical. However, all workers had to be committed

Christians. Although the fellowship had pledged the Government that.it would not preach, the workers very readily told the people about their faith when asked and actively supported the Nepalese church.

Dr Scott-Brown has spent six weeks lecturing on his work throughout Australia and three weeks in New Zealand. He will return to Nepal on Thursday.