Seventy-three years have passed since the 1951 revolution and the fall of the Rana autocracy. However, the economic prosperity that the movement imagined remains elusive. Countries with economies similar to ours in the 1950s forged ahead while we fell behind. Korea, Singapore and Taiwan are now on par with the so-called First World. While China has boosted its economy, and India is close behind, we are now the second poorest country in South Asia, just above Afghanistan. Why did we lag behind?

The lack of educated, enlightened political leadership is at the core of the answer. Economic development in a knowledge economy requires the country's political leadership to acknowledge meritocracy, quality education and skills appropriate to the needs of the economy and pursue policies to enhance them. Education and skilled human resources are considered the prime movers of all successful economies. Take South Korea (called Korea hereafter) for example.

Korea

In South Korea, the leaders, including dictators like Syngman Rhee and Park Chung Hee (1948-79), were highly educated. They understood the importance of quality education and pursued policies to ensure it. Chung Hee brought the human resource concept into the policy. Korea's literacy rate increased by 2.6 percent annually from 1945 to 1968, reaching nearly 90 percent in 1968 and almost 100 percent in 2014. The GDP per capita grew from $94 in 1961 to nearly $32,000 in 2020. Korean secondary school students rank amongst the top in the Programme for International School Assessment (PISA), higher than the Western industrialised countries. Korean Government facilitates "reading programs and movements, creating a desirable reading environment in homes, kindergartens, schools and communities, with particular help for those with special needs such as senior citizens, prisoners, the disabled, or families from other cultures, and finally, improvement in the infrastructure of libraries, as described above", under their Reading Promotion Culture Act.

With a population of about 52 million, according to Statista, in 2023, Korea had "335 higher education institutions, comprising four-year universities and junior colleges with a two- or three-year curriculum". Korea had the highest percentage of tertiary education graduates among the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries. Moreover, it has 583 vocational schools and considers libraries integral to a country's education and economic development like the developed world. As of 2020, it had 22,400 libraries managed under the "Library Act". The Presidential Committee on Library and Information Policy implements and controls library policies.

Confucian ideas embedded in Southeast Asian culture emphasised meritocracy and education, enhancing education in Southeast Asian countries and China. Jawaharlal Nehru knew India could only compete in the knowledge economy with world-class educational institutions. He founded the Indian Institute of Technology and the Institute of Marketing and Management. The country is now one of the world's largest economies. 

Nepal’s scenario

People with little or no formal education have led Nepal for several decades. The country does not have a culture of scholarship. Scrutiny at the cabinet-level appointments tells us that our political leaders do not acknowledge the value of scholarship, education, expertise and knowledge required to run a modern government and promote a knowledge economy. Politicians without subject knowledge occupy highly technical ministerial positions such as the Minister of Finance, Minister of Physical Development, etc. Since educational institutions are highly politicised, mediocracy prevails through the government. Political parties use teachers and students alike to promote their political agenda. Literacy enhancement and quality education have never been Nepali politicians' priorities.

Nepal's literacy rate grew by about 1 percent from 1952 to 2022. It was 71.15 percent in 2022. Its GDP per capita increased from $51 in 1961 to $1,337 in 2022. The country has around 13 central universities and six academies of health sciences, and many other provincial universities are in the pipeline. However, most existing universities are poorly equipped, and Western universities do not recognise their degree. The schools face similar situations, as the standards are far from promising and have fallen even lower than during the Panchayat era. Over 52 percent of the students failed in a recent Secondary Education Examination. Nepal has no Library Act, and most Nepali schools lack libraries. A country of nearly 30 million people has no functioning national library.

I have been involved in establishing libraries in rural Nepal through the Nepal Library Foundation for the past 19 years. When I expressed my frustration about the lack of cooperation from the government to a friend, he said, “How can you expect cooperation from a government whose leaders seldom read a book for pleasure or learning? A library does not mean anything to them. That is why we, a nation of nearly 30 million people, do not have a Library Act and one decent library. Do you remember the previous Oli government stopping the work on the design of the Nepal National Library in the Jamal area?”

Why did we lag?

Over the years, our political leaders have reached the pinnacle of power with little or no education and have refused to recognise the importance of meritocracy, quality education and human resource development. In addition, we suffer from a culture of mediocrity. Mediocrity is soul-destroying; it neither serves nor inspires. It breeds complacency.

If we are to realise the dream of 1951, the mediocracy that dominates our governance must be replaced by meritocracy. We need educated, enlightened leaders who understand the 21st-century knowledge economy and do what it takes to prepare for it. Our political leadership should expand literacy, improve the quality of education, tie education with economic development strategy and immediately depoliticise education.