Transcription of interview 6

Transcription of interview 6
Date: July 18, 2009 (Saturday) Time 6 PM to 7:30 PM
Researcher: Madam Namaste!
Respondent: Namaskar sir. How are you doing?
Researcher: Well Ma'm. I finished transcribing an interview and waiting for you.
Respondent: That's right. I am ready. You can go ahead.
Researcher: Ma'm, in your opinion should we make people free to acquire knowledge and skill through all three modes of learning? If yes, how can we make people free to acquire knowledge through formal, non-formal and informal means?
Respondent: Yes we can. For this regard there should be collective effort from individual, community, government all.
Researcher: Should we make all these three forms equally important?
Respondent: yes. The most important is the individual him/herself. S/he should have learning attitude. After that other comes later. Otherwise it does not make sense.
Researcher: O k Madam. What do you think a nation should do to take all these forms in an equal footing?
Respondent: Nations effort is another important aspect. The nation should have clear policy, resources and other essential things. Though the nation’s attention is on formal education basically however, they have non-formal education program too. They should make it more effective providing more choices. About informal....they can do different program, campaign.... Actually lifelong learning is learning through the life which is possible in different context. Continuing education is one of the contexts.
Researcher: Thank you Ma'm. In your opinion should we provide certification to informal learners as equivalent to formal ones? If yes, how should their knowledge and skills should be assessed?
Respondent: This is the very important question and most essential thing too. In Nepal that kind of provision is rare. To make it more relevant they have to find out the practices of other countries and make the policy. In the US the community college provide that kind of knowledge and skills. Besides this the universities also conduct Adult education.... and continuing education program on regular basis....
Researcher: What problems do you see in identifying and recognizing indigenous knowledge in Nepal?
Respondent: The medium of mass education is said to be formal education, moreover in the context of Nepal without formal education we cannot imagine education system as a whole. But if we see the history of education and current international practices we can find entirely a different scenario. So, what I think is lifelong learning and continuing education, in a sense, is non-formal education and informal learning. We can take formal education for a very limited period of time. These two forms of learning are the constituents of lifelong learning. People can’t continue their formal education because of family problems but their knowledge and skills need to be updated and the only way to do this is non-formal and informal learning. Informal learning takes place wherever we go and whatever we do. To enhance it the place where people work or spend time should have learning environment.
Researcher: Can we provide eligibility for informal learners to enter into formal education system? For example, a person has never gone to school, neither college but s/he claims that s/he has the knowledge equivalent to the one who has passed Bachelor Degree through regular schooling. Can we allow the former to get admission in Master Degree? If yes, what type of mechanism should be developed?
Respondent: This is the most important and relevant issue. If a nation can do this it will be very good asset for it overall development. Because of the lack of such system a person who has skill and knowledge is deprived of opportunity because of the lack of certificate. As a consequence an individual, his/her society and as a whole the nation is in loss. What I have heard and read is that some people who have not even passed SLC are better, especially in mathematics, than a graduation holder. I think a country has to take such cases seriously. In our country, I think because of political instability these things are overshadowed. There should be a platform so as to provide opportunity for an individual to assess his/her knowledge and skill. A kind of placement test can be administered and on the basis of his/her performance he/she should be given an equivalent certificate.
Researcher: What type of problem do you think will come while recognizing various types of indigenous knowledge in a diversified nation like ours?
Respondent: Caste system – one of the negative aspect of Hinduism – can bring some problems. Caste system emerged out of works people did in the past. While the works of all the people are made equivalent in terms of the skill and knowledge needed it may bring some social conflict but I don’t think racial discrimination will be a major problem because of the government effort and public awareness. But there are chances of racial conflict so the proposed plan for recognition and validation of indigenous knowledge and skill should work in such way that it will minimize the chances of social conflict by changing our educational policy.
Researcher: Can we develop a National Qualifications Framework as the nations of European Union have done? What problems do you see to identify and list out all types of knowledge and skill – formal, non-formal, and informal- and keep them under a single framework so as to make the system of accreditation comfortable?
Respondent: It is relevant and necessary thing of our time. I think universities in Nepal have to design courses by analyzing the course of international universities so as to provide recognition and accreditation. Knowledge and skills should be made universally acceptable both inside and outside Nepal, otherwise it will bring problem. I think Nepal government should take this seriously. National Qualifications Framework should be developed with the help of proper indicators and it should also include the ways of assessing one’s knowledge, skills and competence.
Researcher: In the case of lifelong learning which form of learning – formal, non-formal and informal – do you think is more important? If you think they are equally important than how can we make them so in the context of Nepal?
Respondent: I think these three forms of learning are integrated things. A person studying in school learns not only what is in the curriculum. Side-by-side s/he learns while walking on the street, while involving with peers, while studying himself/herself. So, I don’t think formal learning alone can work. To enrich formal education both non-formal and informal learning have significant responsibility. In this sense formal learning can’t exist without informal and non-formal learning. All of these three forms have to be promoted simultaneously. Social organizations have to aware people of the importance of informal learning.
Researcher: Do you think non-formal and informal learner can compete with the people who come from formal schooling in the job market?
Respondent: I don’t think it will be a problem. When one has an equivalent certificate s/he can easily compete with others. Equivalent certificate means equivalent knowledge, skill and competence. But effective criteria have to be developed to assess such knowledge, skills and competence. If a valid institution assess in a fair manner all types of learners who are certified equally well. If we develop such type of culture, I think this will not be a problem.
Researcher: Madam, should the government allow them to fight for the government posts such as in Public Service Commission?
Respondent: I don’t know why the people are motivated to government posts. Competent people shouldn’t depend on the job created by others, rather they have to create job for them themselves. They can be entrepreneur, businessperson, anything as per their interests and capacity.
Researcher: Finally, how do you think we should validate informal and non-formal learning so as to enhance lifelong learning and continuing education?
Respondent: As I said already we have to develop a National Qualifications Framework at national level and that should be comparable to international level. Our education standard has to be made as equal as the standard of international level. Knowledge and skill assessment shouldn’t be limited to paper and pencil test. There should be effective, valid and reliable ability testing mechanism. For validation there should be clear assessment criteria. After rigorous experimentation policy has to be made to institutionalize it. It is not an easy task but if we can do it, it will certainly make a great contribution for a large group of disadvantaged people of the nation.
Researcher: Madam, thank you very much for providing me time and give valuable inputs.