June 30:The recently published Secondary Education Examination (SEE) results have cast a spotlight on the concerning state of education in Karnali Province, where more than half of the students have failed to qualify for Grade 11. 

In this year’s SEE, only 41.34 per cent students from Karnali managed to get through, while a staggering 59 per cent failed and have been classified as ‘Non-Grading (NG),’ meaning they did not achieve the minimum required grades. Out of 35,446 students who appeared for the SEE exam in Karnali, only 14,654 passed. According to the Directorate of Education Development in Surkhet, 20,779 students have been classified as NG.

District-wise performance

Jajarkot (55% pass rate)

Out of 4,572 examinees who appeared SEE from Jajarkot, 2,529 have passed, while 2,043 students have been classified as ‘NG’, failed. 

According to Laxmi Bhandari, head of Education Development and Coordination Unit in Jajarkot, only 55.34 per cent students have passed SEE in the district. 

Surkhet (33% pass rate)

More than half of the examinees of Surkhet who appeared SEE have failed. The district has witnessed 33.74 per cent pass rate. Out of 7,979 examinees from the district, only 2,692 students have passed, while 5,287 students were classified as non-grading.  

Very low in Dailekh (15%) 

Only a few students have passed SEE from Dailekh district this year; only 828 out of 4,915 students who had appeared the SEE have passed.  

Similarly, head of Education Development and Coordination Unit Ratan Bista reported that 4,087 students had failed, classified as NG. 

According to him, only 15 per cent of students had passed in the district.

Salyan (50%) 

The SEE results in Salyan is also concerning this year, as only 2,303 out of 4,529 students who appeared the exam passed successfully.Lal Bahadur Gharti Magar, head of the Education Development and Coordination Unit in Salyan, said this year only 50.87 per cent of examinees had passed. Across the district, a total of 2,226 students have been classified as NG.

Humla (46%) 

A total of 46.19 per cent of students have passed SEE in Humla this year. Out of 1,169 students who appeared for the exam, only 540 have passed.

Head of the Education Development and Coordination Unit Yogesh Ale Magar said that total 629 examinees have failed in the district and are classified as NG. 

Rukum (64%) 

This year, 3,560 students had appeared for the SEE from Rukum West. 

Out of these, only 2,223 students have passed. Head of the Education Development and Coordination Unit, Tara Pun Magar, reported that 64.7 per cent of students in the district have passed the SEE. 

A total of 1,277 students have failed and are classified as non-grading.

Kalikot (37%) 

In Kalikot district, 37.79 per cent of students have passed the SEE. Out of 3,615 students who appeared the SEE exam this year, 1,366 students have passed. Head of the Education Development and Coordination Unit, Prakash Chandra Dhital reported that 2,249 students have been classified as NG. 

Mugu (44 %)

Less than 45 per cent of students have passed the SEE exam in Mugu district. 

According to Khadka Viyal, head of Education Development and Coordination Unit, out of 1,030 students who appeared SEE, only 454 passed whereas 576 students have failed and are classified as NG. 

Only one student scores 4 GPA

Only one student from Karnali Province has scored 4 GPA.

Dinesh Sharma, a student of Valley Meridian Academy Boarding School of Surkhet, has obtained 4 GPA. 

According to the directorate, the number of students who scored 4 GPA from the community schools of Karnali Province is zero.

Deteriorating quality of education 

Karnali’s performance in the SEE is marked by weakness, with only a small number of students achieving high grades.

Madhav Prasad Khanal, Head of Surkhet Multiple Campus, attributed Karnali’s poor performance in the SEE this time to the shortage of textbooks and the absence of subject teachers.

Various studies have highlighted that education quality in Karnali Province is poor compared to other provinces.