Kathmandu BernHardt Secondary School and College has honored the principals and heads of about 100 schools in the Kathmandu Valley Under the chief hospitality of Jai Raj Awasthi, a program titled "Kathmandu Regional School Principals' Workshop on Socio-Educational Issues as Challenges for Formal Education was held under the social responsibility, said the principal of the college Amrit Babu Bhatta.
Mr. Bhupesh Chhatkuli, President of the College presided over the function. Narayan Prasad Chapagain welcomed the participants and explained the purpose of the program. The keynote speaker of the program, Prof. Dr. Jai Raj Awasthi drew the attention of the participants by giving his presentation on social, educational issues and challenges.
After the completion of the first phase of the program, the program was concluded by preparing an 8-point declaration to the heads and representatives of various schools and colleges after holding group discussions on 8 different thematic issues.
During the program, Case of Single Parent, Broken Family, Parenting Style, Diversity in Classroom, Drugs Addiction, Addicted to Mobile and Internet etc., Severe Illness, and Children in Relation were discussed. The program aims to further contribute to the educational transformation by conducting similar programs in different states in the coming days, said Nawaraj Adhikari, managing director of the college.
Workshop Discussions
THEME: CASE OF SINGLE PARENT
i. Causes of Problem
- Divorce
- Misunderstanding between spouses
- Economic status of the family
- Legal hurdle (Property dispute)
- Death: (any one or both)
- Early Marriage and Pregnancy
- Foreign/ intra-nation migration for employment
- Imprisonment of parent
ii. Related Issues of the Problem
- Children may get victimized emotionally (Bullying, harassment, stigma, trauma etc.)
- Modernization-not compromising nature
- Poverty
- Inter-caste and inter-religion marriage
- Lacking accountability towards the children and family
- Drugs and alcohol
iii. Fixed and Variable Factors of Issue
Fixed Factors
- Poverty
- Foreign employment
- Imprisonment of parent
- Severe illness of anyone
Variable Factors
- Children related issues
- Episodes of parent / guardian interaction
iv. Remedial Measures
- Getting current information and record
- Counseling by professional
- Calling parents and guardian for counseling to address the psychological & emotional issues
- Regular monitoring
- Uplifting existing economic condition of the family
- Addressing issues of diversity (racial/ethnic/lingual/cultural/gender) in the society
- Safer school policy
THEME: BROKEN FAMILY
i. Causes of Problem
- Drugs and alcohol consumption
- Socio-economic factors
- Misuse of social media and IT
- So-called modernization trend
- Accident
- Lack of trust in relationship among spouses
- Early/ multiple marriage
ii. Related Issues of the Problem
- Modernization and migration (change in life style)
- Limited earning
- Lack of responsibility towards family
- Poor family relation
- Brain drain
iii. Fixed and Variable Factors of Issue
Fixed Factors
- Foreign employment
- Lack of sound economic background
- Factors like social, economic, educational, religious etc.
Variable Factors
- State of emotional security
- Lack of knowledge about the societal values
- Lacking knowledge about importance of family
- Availability of counseling facility
iv. Remedial Measures
- Proper record and monitoring by school and parent
- Counseling to parents and children
- Recognizing both parents & students in case of bringing changes in students' behavior
- Continuous counseling and guidance
- Family interaction and sharing
- Training of time management
THEME: PARENTING STYLE
i. Causes of Problem
- Socio-economic status of parent
- Parents' way of dealing with children
- Indulging in more Luxury-travelling whisky, cigarette, frequent party • High expectation (repeatedly expressing)
- Less parental engagement with children
- Value education/ habit formation
ii. Related Issues of the Problem
- Nuclear family structure
- Easy money from parents
- Busy and stressful job of parents
- Less time given to child
- Imitating parental practice from others
- Indifference towards education
iii. Fixed and Variable Factors of Issue
Fixed Factors
- Parents' Income
- Academic background of parents
- Socio-cultural background
Variable Factors
- Time students spend with parents
- Lacking knowledge in how to provide parenting
- Parents' belief / attribution towards their children
- Lacking knowledge in paradigm shifts regarding parenting
iv. Remedial Measures
- Regular parenting session
- Professional counseling to the students and parents
- Close monitoring and mutual engagement
- Maintaining proper record
- Acceptance of changes/ updates
THEME: DIVERSITY IN CLASS ROOM (Unwanted Disposable Income at Hand)
i. Causes of Problem
- Illegal source of income at home
- Foreign employment
- Tika (Dakshina) and gift
- Unaware of saving impact
- Lottery and prizes
- Tendency of rearing single child
ii. Related Issues of the Problem
- Show off
- Changed life style
- Willing to control others by the force of money
- Drug addiction
- Reduced social interaction
iii. Fixed and Variable Factors of Issue
Fixed Factors
- Parents' profession
- Changing life style
- Income status
Variable Factors
- Students Knowledge level
- Saving habit
- Peer pressure
iv. Remedial Measures
- Generating interest in saving habit
- Encourage to donate
- Parenting counseling
- Bringing financial literacy
THEME: DRUGS ADDICTION
i. Causes of Problem
- Lack of awareness
- Peer pressure
- Family related causes (Broken family, lack of parental attention, disposable income etc.) • Self-medication and escape
- Experimentation
- To feel grown up
ii. Related Issues of the Problem
- Health hazards
- Family stress and conflict
- Financial loss
- Psychological disorder
- Violence and crime
- Drop out and poor academic performance
iii. Fixed and Variable Factors of Issue
Fixed Factors
- Religious practices
- Family structure
- Availability of drugs
- Socio-ethnic culture
Variable Factors
- Students' behavior
- Information about students
- Friend circle
iv. Remedial Measures
- Keeping record and monitoring
- Identifying whether medical problem are there or not
- Consulting parents / guardian
- Positive attitude and suggestion to be counseled
- Regular follow up through counselors or mental health experts
THEME: ADDICTED TO MOBILE & INTERNET ETC.
i. Causes of Problem
- Online Class System
- Social media
- Easy access to mobile and net
- Friend circle
- Policy adopted by institution
ii. Related Issues of the Problem
- Lesser interest to study
- Formation of negative group
- Not interested in physical exercise
- Development of abnormal behaviour in child
- Lacking ethical and cultural values
iii. Fixed & Variable Factors of Issue
Fixed Factors
- Access of social media
- Changing economic condition
- Changing trend in socialization
Variable Factors
- Lacking time management
- Parental engagement with child
- Lack of proper policy in regard with the use of mobile & internet in schools
iv. Remedial Measures
- Time bound in the use of mobile and internet
- Counseling to parents and students
- At least putting off the net and giving mobile to parents at night • Regular follow up through counselor or mental health experts
- Have alternative ways to fill the free time
Theme: Severe Illness
i. Causes of Problem
- Accident
- Inborn deficiency
- Communicable disease
- Heredity
- Mental conditions
- Disaster
ii. Related Issues of the Problem
- Lesser sleep
- Disability
- High expenses in health-related issues
iii. Fixed and Variable Factors of Issue
Fixed Factors
- Inborn deficiency
- Accidental cases
- Environment
- Inorganic food
Variable Factors
- Drinking water
- Awareness
- Family environment
- Food habit
- Cleanliness
iv. Remedial Measures
- Identification of student and maintaining record
- Sufficient drinking water to be provided.
- Awareness campaign
- Proper counseling to the student
- Asking all information from parents
Theme: Children in Relation
i. Causes of Problem
- Social media and movies
- Friend group
- Imitating friend circle
- Loneliness/ Broken family
ii. Related Issues of the Problem
- Visiting porn sites
- Misusing the benefits provided by the family
- Less time spent with parents
- Weak parenting
iii. Fixed and Variable Factors of Issue
Fixed Factors
- Family and society
- Change in physical and emotional status
- Digital division
Variable Factors
- Use of internet
- Parenting style
- Social media and movies
- Friend circle
iv. Remedial Measures
- Regular counseling
- Parents are supposed to spend more hours with their children
- Time bound of internet and mobile
- Counseling to parents
