Sr. Jessy CJ : Director of St. Mary’s and Mary Ward Schools, Nepal
What is education and why is it important to human society?
Human mind has got such an immense power. We can use it for production or destruction. Through education, we try to discipline our mind so that it gets focused and can be used productively.
What is the difference between Nepali education system in comparison to other countries?
Though I don’t like to make comparisons, I would like to say that our syllabus is good, our text books are good and the content is good but the way it is imparted needs a lot of improvement. Here we fail.
Mary’s School is a renowned international brand. Many students and guardians are in thrust to study here. What is the main attraction of this school?
Convent education is renowned from time eternity. The nuns who are teachers are an attraction to parents and students and the main reason for it is that the nuns take teaching profession as their mission and call from God and they are not paid for their labour. Their reward and salary are their students’ success. This spirit of teaching profession is imparted to the lay staff. In other sense, I mean to say knowledge is not sold here. I feel this is the main attraction of St. Mary’s.
What is the tutorial process? What is the difference between this school and other Nepali communities’ schooling system?
Our tutorial process is not exam oriented or result oriented. There is an opportunity for all round development and very specially our system emphasizes on training of the school of heart and just not school of head.
Once again I would like to say that I do not want to make a comparison between St. Mary’s School and other schools as I believe that everybody is trying their best in forming good citizens for the country and the world.
It is believed that any academic institution is a platform of knowledge production. How do you define it in the case of St. Mary’s School?
Knowledge does not come as a production at the end of the academic year but it is a process to be gained from womb to tomb.
Do you satisfy with the teaching system that is a claim of unproductive rhetoric education in Nepal? How can it be improved?
I am not aware of the rhetoric education in our country. But my experiences with other schools are that all of us including St. Mary’s aim is to form and mould good citizens for tomorrow. We need love, commitment, dedication and a passion in what we are doing.
What does education teach the students – the course, syllabus, ethics, discipline, professionalism, responsibility or any other thing?
Agreeing to all the above mentioned learnings, I would add that in an academic year, the students have class tests, unit tests, terminal exams and final exams to prove that they are intelligent and successful academically. But we try to tell our students that their real exams come when life struggles knock at their doors and if they are able to stand strong during those hard times and come out from them without being broken, then they have passed their final exams in life.
