u Ottawa l.'Un/vcrsiltf i'.innrlicn;K- Ginacln's university FACULTE DES ETUDES SUPERIEURES mn FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND ET POSTOCTORALES U Ottawa POSDOCTORAL STUDIES L'University eanadierme Canada's university Tracey Parker AUTEUR DE LA THESE / AUTHOR OF THESIS M.A. (Education) GRADE/DEGREE Faculty of Education "FAcOlTiTFcoLTbT^ Education, Conflict & Development in Nepal: Historical Precedents & Modern Dynamics TITRE DE LA THESE / TITLE OF THESIS Richard Maclure DIRECTEUR (DIRECTRICE) DE LA THESE / THESIS SUPERVISOR CO-DIRECTEUR (C0-D"|RECTRICE) DEIATHESE /THESIS CO-SUPERVISOR EXAMINATEURS (EXAMINATRICES) DE LA THESE / THESIS EXAMINERS Cheryll Duquette Martin Barlosky Gary W. Slater Le Doyen de la Faculte des etudes superieures et postdoctorales / Dean of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Education, Conflict & Development in Nepal: Historical Precedents & Modern Dynamics Tracey Parker Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the MA degree in Education Faculty of Education University of Ottawa © Tracey Parker, Ottawa, Canada, 2008 Library and Bibliotheque et 1*1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-48643-6 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-48643-6 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par Plntemet, prefer, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non­ sur support microforme, papier, electronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation. reproduced without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne Privacy Act some supporting sur la protection de la vie privee, forms may have been removed quelques formulaires secondaires from this thesis. ont ete enleves de cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires in the document page count, aient inclus dans la pagination, their removal does not represent il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. any loss of content from the thesis. Canada Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisor, Richard Maclure, for his invaluable assistance in the production of this thesis. Thank you also to the members of my thesis committee, whose comments on the initial drafts were very helpful. I also greatly appreciate those individuals who participated in interviews for sharing their time and expertise. 11 Abstract This thesis discusses the relationship between educational development, foreign aid, and socio-political conflict in Nepal, and explores how Nepal's donors have been responding to the country's escalating Maoist insurgency. It explores whether Nepal's donors have considered the role of education in socio-political conflict, or have reexamined their support to education in light of the violence. The study is guided by two seemingly contradictory perspectives on education. One perspective, espoused by development agencies and global movements, is that education is a benign force of social progress and modernization, while the other perspective, made evident by the role of schools in situations of violent conflict worldwide, is of education as a vehicle for hegemonic control by autocratic ruling groups and/or the transmission of the values and prejudices underlying social grievances. The dichotomy between these two perspectives is evident in Nepal. While it has not directly instigated Maoist violence, education has contributed to the perpetuation of socio­ political discord and has in effect become positioned at the centre of Nepal's protracted socio-political struggle. Donor-funded education reform programs in Nepal, however, have largely ignored the country's entrenched socio-political power balance and other contextual constraints, and have therefore merely obscured the continuance of traditional structures of elite dominance while doing little to improve education quality. Even with the onset of Maoist violence, Nepal's donors do not appear to have examined the contribution of education to social discord, nor the suitability of current vehicles of educational support in the context of conflict. Although these agencies have endeavored to respond to the conflict and make their overall programs conflict-sensitive, these efforts have generally circumvented the education sector. This thesis argues that conflict has helped to illuminate in Nepal what Bush and Saltarelli (2004) refer to as the "negative face of education". The case of Nepal serves as further substantiation of the importance of considering the role of schools in the perpetuation of discriminatory social practices. It also underscores Davies' (2005) exhortation for an increased research emphasis on conflict-sensitivity in education, a mainstreaming of conflict analysis within education planning, as well as a reconsideration of the purpose and methods of education in an increasingly interconnected and violent world. 111 Table of Contents List of Acronyms, Tables & Figures viii Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Chapter 2: Education, Development & Conflict: A Literature Review 7 2.1 Education & National Development: Assumptions, Limitations & Contradictions 2.2 Education & National Development in Conflict & Post-Conflict Circumstances 2.2.1 Education During Conflict 2.2.2 Educational Reconstruction in Post-Conflict Societies 2.3 International Aid in Contexts of Conflict & Host Government Fragility 2.3.1 Rationale for Foreign Aid 2.3.2 Critiques of Foreign Aid 2.3.3 Typology of Aid Agencies 2.3.4 Development Aid in Conflict Zones 2.3.5 Aid to Fragile States 2.3.5 (a) Challenges in the Provision of Aid to Fragile States 2.3.5 (b) Definitions of State Fragility 2.4 International Aid for Emergency Education in Zones of Conflict & State Fragility 2.5 Summary of Literature Review 2.6 The Case of Nepal: An Overview 2.7 Research Questions Chapter 3: Methodology 37 3.1 Project Outline 3.1.1 Document Collection & Analysis 3.1.2 Interviews 3.1.3 Data Analysis 3.2 Anonymity 3.3 Scope & Limitations of the Study 3.4 Verifiability 3.5 Dependability Chapter 4: Nepal: Political & Educational Developments up to the Early 1990s 43 4.1 Political Developments IV 4.1.1 The Shah Period 4.1.2 The Rana Period 4.1.3 The "Democratic Experiment" 4.1.4 The Panchayat System 4.2 Nepal's Slow Economic Development & Socio-Cultural Constraints 4.3 Education in Nepal: Stages & Dynamics of an Emerging National System 4.3.1 Earliest forms of Education in Nepal: The Shah & Rana Periods 4.3.2 Education during the "Democratic Experiment" of the 1950s: The Vision of the National Education Planning Commission 4.3.3 Education During the Panchayat Years 4.3.3 (a) The Role of Education in Nation Building during the Panchayat Years 4.3.3 (b) Access & Enrollment in Panchayat Era Schools (1960-1990) 4.3.3 (c) The New Education System Plan (NESP) 4.3.3(d) Student Politics 4.4 Conclusion: The Interconnections of Political & Educational Development in Nepal Chapter 5: The Maoist Insurgency & Education in Nepal: Dynamics & Implications 72 5.1 Development of the Maoist Insurgency 5.1.1 Antecedents of the Insurgency: Governance, Discrimination & Endemic Poverty Post-1990 5.1.2 The Emergence of the Communist Party of Nepal - Maoist 5.1.3 The Escalation of the Insurgency 5.2 Impacts of the Insurgency on Nepalese Society 5.3 Education & the Underlying Dynamics of the Maoist Revolt 5.3.1 Critiques of Education in Modern Nepal 5.3.2 The Maoists & Education: Ideology & Strategy 5.3.2 (a) Maoist Agitation against Private Schools 5.3.2 (b) Maoist Ideology vis-a-vis Public Schooling 5.3.2 (c) Critiques of Maoist Educational Initiatives 5.4 Effects of the Maoist Insurgency on Education in Nepal v 5.4.1 Effects of the Insurgency on the Education System: Document Analysis 5.4.2 Effects of the Insurgency on the Education System: Interviews with INGO Representatives 5.5 Conclusion: Cause-Effect Dynamics between Education & Conflict in Nepal Chapter 6: Foreign Aid & Education in Nepal Prior to the Insurgency 107 6.1 Historical Overview of Aid to Nepal 6.2 Shifting Trends & Five Year Plans: Mixed Results 6.2.1 Development Trends in Nepal 6.2.1 (a) Growth Maximization: 1950s-1960s 6.2.1 (b) Rural Development: 1970s 6.2.1 (c) Basic Needs: 1980s 6.2.1(d) The 1990s 6.2.1 (e) The Tenth Plan & Other Recent Initiatives 6.2.2 Development Outcomes 6.3 The Politics of Foreign Aid in Nepal 6.4 Aid to Education in Nepal: An Overview 6.4.1 Aid to Education before 1990 6.4.2 Aid to Education during the 1990s 6.4.3 Aid to Education after 2000: The Education For All (EFA)