Nepal and India

Before researching, I did not know much about Nepal and India. What I first researched was their location. I saw on a map just how close they were, and from what it sounds like, it is very easy to cross the border. I then wondered how their relationship was. I found out the history of their relationship, and how they were very close with great relations. I learned that in 1950 they signed a Treaty of Peace and Friendship. It sounded like with time, they had their ups and downs, but currently their relationship has gotten better.

Since it is so easy to cross the border, it made me think about their education systems. I read that many Nepal students end up going to school in India for their newfound technologies. Nepal has many schools themselves, and there are currently 7.2 million students. With that number, I would have thought their education system is fine. I however learned differently, and read that they face problems of quality, relevance, education management and access. They also have social disparities of gender, ethnicity, location and economic class. From that, I went on to read about the structure of education. It is known as school education, and higher education. School education are grades 1 through 10, and higher secondary education are grades 11 and 12. They also have a national level School Leaving Certificate examination for kids at the age of 10. This made me wonder how many kids take that examination, and end up leaving school at the age of 10.

Since I had insight into what our book, Sold, was about, I decided to research the sex-trafficking issue. The information startled me, and it was very unsettling. I read that 10,000 to 15,000 girls are trafficked across the Nepal-India border each year. I had read a little into the book, so I knew previously about being lured in by false hope of employment to be a maid, or other things but this source gave me much more information. I read that they are told they are “paying back” the price that they were bought for, but more often than not, they do not have a chance of getting out. If they do get out, I read that most of the time, their families will not even accept them back, so they end up back on the streets selling themselves. This made me wonder what is going to happen in the rest of the book.

The last thing I researched was any current problems in Nepal. I read more than I would have hoped for and found out they have severe Environmental issues including water pollution, air pollution, respiratory problems and land degradation. I was reading that those issues then contribute to stunted economic growth and the livelihood of the people that live there. Land degradation is typically because of the population growth, improper use of agro-chemicals and overly intensive use of landholdings that are too small to provide households with a sufficient amount of food.

Researching all of this really opened my eyes to how life can be in other countries. I was glad to read all of this, and am now even more curious to read the rest of Sold.