A Level Above | Feature | wavemag.com.np

KIRAN PANDAY

Education wise, Nepal is still quite in the dark in most respects. The 10 +2 curriculum, still the norm for most of the students, is traditional, to say the least. SLC examination, the so called 'iron gate' for a Nepali student, is as inflexible as iron in terms of accepting new topics to teach. The Advanced Level curriculum is probably one of the only bits of progress made in Nepal's schools and colleges. This curriculum, based on the General Certificate of Education (GCE) of England, is generally taken by students after they finish their tenth standard. In fact, the A-level content that we study here is a bit different from the one taught in England, yet they are loosely related.

By now most of us know that A-levels was first introduced in 1951, and that its dynamicity differentiates it from other systems in Nepal. In 2000, the curriculum was once again changed to introduce Advanced-Subsidiary (AS) subjects that cover a narrower range of topics, a positive move to encourage students to study and delve into new subjects and not stick to their "comfort zone".

Today, the A-level is recognised in over 150 countries worldwide, from Bangladesh to Bulgaria. But what is all the fuss about? Is it just the most telling remnant of British Imperialism (most Commonwealth countries accept A-level), or is it really the road to take for other courses and curriculums?

Visiting Nepal:
The first folks to bring the A-levels into prominence in Nepal are the schools that are probably most well-equipped in teaching them. As Mr. Suraj Dahal of Orient College confirms, "Buddanilkantha School and Rato Bangala School have been providing the A-levels for quite some time now, so they are perhaps better prepared than most of the other institutions." Buddanilkantha School first brought the system to Nepal. However, today, the A-levels syllabus is far more popular.

In the Valley itself, there are more than twenty institutions providing A-levels and the growth in popularity has to do with the increase in market as well. There are several institutions in Pokhara and Biratnagar as well. For instance, Cosmos College in Pokhara has more than 125 students taking the A-level this year, which includes financially assisted students from remote places of Syangja and Lamjung. As more people become aware of the shortcomings of the traditional Nepali syllabi, they are opting for A-levels.

A-levels also caught the attention of many students because students somehow relate studying A-levels to an easier way to go abroad. "The link between A-levels and going abroad is obvious but narrow," says NP Sharma of Buddanilkantha School, "Of course the internationally recognised syllabus is a plus point because universities and colleges do not have problems and so don't hesitate while accepting these results.

However, the basic advantage actually stops there."

Sharma does make a good point. A-level also has the huge advantage of offering a wider variety of subjects to students, so that students can show their prowess and abilities in different areas. A common setback that many students point out is having to pigeon-hole into a certain field while studying in other systems available in the country, such as having to limit education to the science or commerce faculty. A-level has no such limitations; students generally have the freedom to explore their own abilities and disabilities and decide for themselves what they would like to study.

A-level has variety!
A-level offers an eclectic mix of subjects, appeals to students who want to study the arts, humanities or the sciences. Although institutions in Nepal are yet to be bold enough to offer such subjects as Music and even rarely offer Geography and English Literature, a few years into the future, one can be assured that these courses will be available.

"It is this variety that prepares students for the rest of the world," says Manisha Shrestha of Ace College, "Students become more practical." Indeed, A-levels also updates frequently. Science subjects such as Physics, Chemistry and Biology are updated regularly on the basis of any new research that is done in any part of the world. That is why newspapers, magazines and the internet can be used as an advantageous tool by the A-level student and may even be the basis of A-level examinations that you might take!

This usability gives A-level its depth in terms of the quality of education and amount of knowledge received. Nabin Shrestha from A.J. Wild institute says, "The A-level curriculum is more comparable with a Bachelor's degree level of education. It is more like a pre-university level course,"

One tenacious line of thought that we hold today is that colleges and universities are still looking for "potential geniuses" that excel in one certain field but lack an overall high aptitude. Schools regularly state in their viewbooks and websites that they are looking for "well rounded" individuals, someone who has as much interest in the field of science as in the football field. This gives A-level students an added bonus because they can experiment with their subjects, figure out what they like and take them. Students become more diverse, more unique than the usual 'science geek'. Colleges also recognise the grade received in A-level examinations. Many colleges and universities can award credit or advanced standing for an 'A' grade. What this means is a good student can forego several first year courses if they have a good grade.

Mythbusting:

Because A-level is relatively new in the Nepali scene, there are lots of myths and inaccuracies surrounding it. One common misconception amongst many seems to be that the opportunities for an A-level student are wider than for the 10 +2 or the Isc. student. This is untrue. Many colleges, including Ace, Chelsea, Orient and Buddanilkantha, state that opportunities to other students is equally open compared to the A-level student. In fact, any college or university is looking at more than what curriculum you took. Schools like Buddanilkantha say that they make it amply clear to the college what the standard 10 +2 board of Nepal is and they make it certain that colleges in other countries understand what a 10 +2 board entails. So, A-level doesn't make as big a difference as one might think. A student must instead focus on other aspects of his/her 'package', such as the personal essay, the recommendation letters, the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or TOEFL scores and many other things. Don't worry, colleges are smart enough to figure out a suitable student pretty much regardless of the type of examination they take. Another A-level 'myth' is that it encourages the phenomenon of 'brain drain' in Nepal. "This is a common problem among Nepali kids and A-level cannot be targeted specifically," Manisha of Ace says, and she is quite true. The future the student chooses ultimately depends on the student. Students from other boards are also usually trying to go abroad, and it has more to do with the political and economical situation in the country rather than the curriculum. Sudhir Jha of Chelsea says, "If you're looking at the number of student who go abroad in terms of quantity, it is actually the +2 students that come out on top. Students basically want to attain a higher level of education that is of better quality." The facts can be alarming though. Ace and Chelsea claim that almost 100% of students are vying to go abroad rather than stay here. But what skeptics need to realise is that this isn't a trend exclusive to our country. Students from India, China and even the UK choose to go abroad to study, even though they may suffer no internal national problems as such.

The difference between the A-level and +2 curriculums is quite marked, and many students may not know that. The +2 course, books and material haven't changed in 12 years, while the A-level question papers cannot be compared between pre-2003 dates and post-2003 dates for most subjects. Another difference arises in the teaching methodology and approach. Students of A-level must be independent thinkers, because many questions may come from a topic that is not found or clearly explained in the official Cambridge books. Application is another important aspect. Science subjects even have a paper named Application, which contains a totally new topic or experiment where students need to apply their knowledge from different topics and solve the given problems. The answers themselves are more 'content oriented' than 'design oriented' meaning that it doesn't really matter what your handwriting or graph looks like as long as it is readable. Rote learning is strictly discouraged and Cambridge tries hard to ensure that people are learning for life rather than learning for the classroom.

How a British System works in Nepal:
A-level is administered by Cambridge, and locally supervised by the British Council. Cambridge Examinations Association in Nepal (CEAN) and the online support of the Cambridge International Examinations (www.cie.edu) website also makes A-level successful in our country. However, the institutions that provide A-levels have put a lot of effort into making it work and maintaining its authentic quality. As Rajesh Joshi from King's College points out, there are certain requirements: 11 foot ceilings in the classrooms, a maximum number of 30 students per class, ventilation and other basic equipments in the science labs, a space of at least two seats between two students during examination, a library with access to reference books and a computer lab with a commendable internet access. Even before all of these infrastructural adjustments, the institutions have to be qualified and accepted by the Cambridge University and the British Council when they apply to become an A-level institution. Maintaining the quality of teachers is also another issue for these institutions. Many institutions pay for their membership into the British Council's Teacher Support program which costs around Rs. 30,000 a year. Added to this, schools have to maintain their personal workshops to compete. Orient College's Sushil Dahal says, "We hold at least three internal workshops to make our teachers better where we discuss what materials are required to teach properly and what other help is required to the teachers. That is why nowadays, compared to around two-three years ago, the quality and quantity of teachers is pretty good for us."

The Cost Factor:
Because of the reasons already highlighted above, an A-level education can be a costly one. Sudhir Jha of Chelsea points out other reasons for the high fee, "There are only 20 to 25 students per class, we cannot cram 40 students into a class because it is not allowed. As teachers need to have a Master's Degree at the very least, we have to pay them a comparatively high salary," A-level books can also be very costly. To elucidate a point, or make it more attractive to a student, these books come with glossy pictures and hard covers, which put their price at around Rs 6-7,000 in Nepal. This means that an A-level student will have to pay, at a minimum, of around Rs 7,000 a month for their education. An extra examination fee is also charged. Rato Bangala School says, "Three A-level papers and one A/S level exam paper can cost between Rs 23,000 and 28.000 depending on the subjects chosen."

If this is not a very rosy picture, there are two points that might be of more help. Institutions including Buddanilkantha, Rato Bangala, Cosmos College, Malpi and King's College offer financial assistance to students with need (Although King's College claims that even a 100% scholarship doesn't cover the cost for examination papers). Secondly, in the long run, which includes any further education that you might undertake, the cost isn't as bad as it seems. Some institutions claim that many students that take A-level do not need to take other preparation courses before they prepare for entrance exams in other fields. As these preparation courses can be costly in their own right, it seems more appropriate for students to choose A-level.

Of Demand and Supply:
A-level, above all, is a lucrative business these days. Because students are lured to the west, institutions have realized that A-level could mean good business sense. Many institutions state that marketing is in fact the main reason so many institutions are starting to provide A-levels. "There are many among us that are in fact providing A-level the wrong way, they are only in it for the money and so are trying to get by with shoddy equipment," says a source from a well know A-level college, who choses to remain anonymous, "of course, these are the very institutions that are finding it hard to survive." But there are also institutions that try and overdo it in the name of quality. A-level doesn't necessarily mean LCD screens and fancy uniforms, schools should just stick to the requirements and focus on the important stuff, namely, what's taught in the classroom rather than what goes on around it.

Cracks in the plaster?
For all the good that an A-level education means, like the freedom to choose subjects, the freedom to ignore subjects one might find difficulty in (for instance, it may even be possible for a student to take Physics and Chemistry but not choose Mathematics), or the easy transition into college because of the similarities in teaching approaches, there are the small setbacks. Reports have recently indicated that there A-level is guilty of 'grade inflation', where students deliberately get higher grades than they deserve. Research in the UK revealed that the pass rate in A-level subjects in 2005 was a staggering 96.2%. A-level results have continuously gotten better every single year for 25 years in a row. Further, research by Durhan University showed that mathematics and sciences were graded with greater severity in comparison to humanities and arts. This might not reflect poorly on the student, because colleges generally weigh the number of 'challenging' courses a student has taken rather than strictly sticking with the grade a student received, but it is still a form of bias that should be sorted out.

This difficulty in attaining a good grade has caused another serious problem for students. Students now tend to take courses where getting better grades is easier rather than the more mentally challenging subjects. Like in the 10 +2 system, where it is usually assumed that the harder working students opt for science courses, the A-level might also slowly become lopsided in its bid to develop competitive, practical students.

Another difficulty that the A-level system has yet to solve in Nepal is involving geographical distance. Tej Bahadur Gurung of Cosmos College says, "From Pokhara, around 80 students take the A-level examination every year. However, in spite these high numbers, students still have to travel to Kathmandu to give the exams." This problem is relevant in Biratnagar too, as students there annually travel to Kathmandu to give their tests. Institutions are appealing against this with the British Council but so far there has been little response from that party.

What can A-level teach us beyond the classroom?
The Ministry of Education should be taking notes from the A-level curriculum. Not only is the old +2 curriculum maladjusted in the modern world, but slowly students are trying to get into A-level institutions rather than try for the government's board. If the government can update the syllabus at least once every five years, and make it more broadly based on current affairs rather than focus on nifty details (that require rote learning in the part of the student), then the +2 curriculum can also be a suitable option for students who wish to compete with the rest of the world. Schools should properly understand that a student is learning to attain a certain lifestyle and not just to pass in a subject, that an antiquated curriculum is not just something to pass 40 minutes with, but something that needs to equip and prepare. "A-level is not something to be intimidated about and treat as foreign, it is something that the educational ministry in Nepal can be inspired from and adapt into its own curriculum. We need to get into the habit of continually asking how to improve the teachers' methods." Buddanilkantha's NP Sharma said, and we hope the government is observing.