Symbolism In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson - 879 Words

Shirley Jackson, the author of the short story â€Å"The Lottery† is an unusual story of a town caught in a trap of following tradition. Shirley Jackson uses many symbols in the story to relate to the theme. By doing this it helps the reader understand the story and the message she is trying to get across. Jackson uses tone, setting, and symbolism to conduct a theme for her readers. By doing this she creates connections to the theme by using the black box and old man Warner as a symbol. Old man Warner plays a significant role in â€Å"The Lottery† considering he is one of the main symbols. Old man Warner is the oldest man in the town, and has participated in seventy seven of the lotteries. Mr, Warner represents the tradition of the lottery in his†¦show more content†¦The setting and tone of the story â€Å"The Lottery† play very significant roles that give the reader a sense of where they are and an overall feeling of what the story should be like. At the beginning of the story Jackson is very specific in describing the setting of the story. She does this by giving an exact date, time, and even telling the reader how the weather outside is. In the story it is summer and everything is getting ready for a new beginning. By saying all of this it gives the reader a sense that this is a normal town that goes through normal day to day activities just like other towns do. Later in the story it is revealed that the â€Å"Winner† of the lottery gets stoned to death by the rest of the town. The overall tone of the story changes in an instant as you get to the end of the story and realize what the lottery really is. The overall theme the reader should take from this story is that blindly following a ritual or a tradition can be very dangerous. The townspeople are so caught up in this tradition that they are not realizing the effects and the damage it is creating the their society. Old man Warner is a very good example of this because the way he sees it there is no problem with the lottery. He believes that it would be detrimental if the town stopped holding these lotteries because the town would take a big step back and go back to primitive times. The reader may find this very ironic because the thought of having an annual human sacrifice forShow MoreRelatedSymbolism In The Lottery, By Shirley Jackson869 Words   |  4 PagesSymbolism is used throughout The Lottery in the character names. Author, Shirley Jackson, uses the name of, Mr. Graves, to foreshadow the story and explain what â€Å"The Lottery† really is. Mr. Graves is the one who carries the three-legged stool which could indicat e two things: the Trinity, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, or it could mean the past, present and future, saying that â€Å"The Lottery† will always be among the people of the village. In addition, he is also the owner of the post office andRead MoreSymbolism Of The Lottery By Shirley Jackson926 Words   |  4 PagesWhen incorporated well, symbolism enhances a story’s overall impact. Shirley Jackson’s short story â€Å"The Lottery† contains symbolism to affect the readers’ feelings as well as add interest. The story begins with the villagers gathering at the square to participate in the lottery. The villagers chat while waiting for the event to begin. After Mr. Summers comes with a black box, he stirs the pieces of paper in the box. The narrators describe the lottery as an old ritual that the community continuesRead MoreSymbolism Of The Lottery By Shirley Jackson1577 Words   |  7 PagesShirley Jackson s The Lottery , is a story that is fille d with symbolism. The author uses symbolism to help her represent human nature as tainted, no matter how pure one thinks of himself or herself, or how pure their environment may seem to be. The story is very effective in raising many questions about the pointless nature of humanity regarding tradition and violence. The Lottery clearly expresses Jackson s feelings concerning mankind?s evil nature hiding behind traditions and ritualsRead MoreUse of Symbolism in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson1146 Words   |  5 Pageswhat is known as Symbolism. Symbolism is the use of object, name, or person to represent an idea. If a name is being use, a name such as autumn can represent the adulthood of a human. Creatures such as an Eagle, represents ‘Freedom’ and ‘America’. Even inanimate objects can represent ideas; the light bulb represents ideas that just sparked into a character’s head. In the short story, â€Å"The Lottery† by Shirley Jackson, a village has just entered the month of June, meaning that the lottery is to begin.Read MoreSymbolism in The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson Essay748 Words   |  3 PagesThe Lottery: Symbolism In her story â€Å"The Lottery†, Shirley Jackson manages to catch the readers’ attention and ultimately shock them with an unexpected ending; all of which help her emphasize her critique toward the dark side of human nature and the evil that resides, sometimes, in those who we less expect it from. Jackson uses symbolism throughout the story that helps her set the mood and also makes the readers wonder and analyze the senseless violence and cruelty in their own lives. It all startsRead MoreUse of Symbolism in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson954 Words   |  4 PagesSymbolism means like any place, person or thing that is something but can be interpreted in a different way. The Lottery by Shirley Jackson is a short story that shows symbolism, to give hints about the story in all the characters and objects in the story. This Short story takes place in the summer where a small town has a lottery every year round. The person that wins the lottery has a huge impact on the town and the crops that grow in it. Old man Warner is the oldest in the town andRead More, Symbolism, And Themes In The Lottery, By Shirley Jackson1252 Words   |  6 PagesShirley Jackson’s The Lottery, is a realism story that was written for the main purpose of entertainment. Jackson writes about a small village that gathers every year for an event they call â€Å"The Lottery†. Every head of households comes up and draws a slip of paper from the box. Bill Hutchinson draws the first slip of paper with the black dot but Tessie Hutchinson quickly exclaims the lottery is not fair. Mr. Summers then puts five slips of paper back into the box, one for each of the family membersRead MoreTheme Of Symbolism In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson960 Words   |  4 Pagesagainst it shall be purged with death. The beauty of this world is just a mere mask to hide its monstrosity.Tear off its mask and you shall be bestowed upon the gift of the cruelty of this world. Shirley Jackson’s short story the â€Å"Lottery† illustrates the characte r Tessie Hutchinson as a figure of symbolism as it leads to the theme that the norms of society isolates those who are a victim of labels and expectations because they decorate the origins of sins therefore premonition of the ruin to someRead MoreSymbolism in The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson Essay example1173 Words   |  5 PagesWhen most people play the lottery today, they think about having wealth. Generally, people who win are happy about it whether they win one dollar or a million. The lottery in our society has grown to support education and it is often worth several million dollars. Usually, the winner of the lottery gains a lot of recognition for the money they win. But what would happen if there was a small town where people held a yearly lottery in which the â€Å"winner† was the member of the town who was not sacrificedRead More The Use of Symbolism in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson Essay938 Words   |  4 PagesThe Use of Symbolism in The Lottery by Shirley Jacks on Within the first few lines of Shirley Jacksons The Lottery we are faced with such adjectives as clear, sunny, fresh and warmth. She goes on to paint a picture of small children just out of school for the summer, as the townspeople gather for the annual Lottery. This leads us to believe that the rest of the story is as cheery as the summer day initially described. We as the readers are virtually unaware of the horrible senseless events

Student Survival Guide Essay - 1198 Words

Student Survival Guide When starting a new course: The first resource I need to use is the course syllabus. The syllabus includes the course overview, and then the week by week assignments. Within in the weekly assignments are your materials needed for the week, and are usually in a word or pdf document. If you dont have the programs to read the downloads; you can download the programs to read the documents on you student web sight. My instructors contact information is also a valuable resource with in my course syllabus. The Center For Writing Excellence is one of the best resources. I can use this resource in many ways: If I have a paper I want reviewed for grammar and structure, I just submit my paper wait no longer than twenty†¦show more content†¦How do you avoid it? By using three steps: Avoid using someone elses ideas or work without there acknowledgment or proper citation. Dont present another students work as your own, even if you partially worked on it too. Make certain, run it threw the plagiarism checker. If I ignore these rules I may suffer some sever consequences I dont want. The worst being suspension and the possibility of it being hard to get into another school if Im expelled. I could and probably will get a failing grade on the paper; or worse I could fail or be dropped from the class depending on what offense it is. I will also be subjected to getting a permanent mark on my student record. I can avoid plagiarism and keep my integrity by doing my own work and using my own ideas on articles I read. I can also avoid plagiarism by remembering the consequences if I do commit plagiarism. Again I should always run my work threw the center for writing excellence. The college has no tolerance for plagiarism and I have to uphold to that. Setting and Achieving Goals I have learned that it is very important to set long and short term goals for myself. I have also learned the difference between the two. A long term goal is around a year long and a short term is well less than a year. For example; my present long term goal is my associates degree. My short term goal is to complete my assignments along with my dailyShow MoreRelatedStudent Survival Guide for Distance Learning Education1122 Words   |  5 PagesStudent Survival Guide for Distance Learning Education By Paul C. Torr Jr. Axia College of the University of Phoenix Gen 105 Final Project Introduction Learning can be a difficult task to anyone who wants to expand his or her knowledge. With the help of online schools, learning has stepped into a new environment that is growing rapidly. Secondary education is now possible for students who want to complete his or her degree online. This might not necessarily be the ideal education forRead MoreGen/105 Week 9 Student Survival Guide1056 Words   |  5 Pageseasier thanks to the educational resources provided to me by Axia College. There are many different types of programs available to me to assist in achieving success. Those programs are found in the Center for Writing Excellence which is located in the student library. The first of these services available in the Center for Writing Excellence is Write Point. This program allows me to submit my papers for review before I turn them in. During this review the program provides feedback on basic grammar usageRead MoreEssay on What Started the Zombie Craze and What Kept Them â€Å"Alive†?862 Words   |  4 PagesPrejudice and Zombies to Zombie Haiku† (Greene). In addition, David Lubar has just recently expanded the zombie craze to elementary school children with his newest novel, My Rotten Life (Lauer-Williams). This is a children’s book about a middle school student who is also a zombie. Zombies, once a scary menace only for the brave at heart, have become a friendlier topic for everyone. However, for some people, zombies are still a very real and scary idea. Fear helps zombies stay on people’s minds and continueRead MoreEssay on Zombies in Popular culture758 Words   |  4 Pagesapart by the undead. The story follows a college student who follows a list of rules in order to survive. He meets three other survivors, and they stick together in order to survive. Each of them find something that they have been looking for, Columbus, the main character, found love, Tallahassee finds a new family, Wichita and Little Rock find people they can trust. Before Zombieland, I hadn’t really thought about the importance of zombie survival in a humorous yet informative way. Sure, while thereRead MoreThe College Survival Guide Project928 Words   |  4 PagesThe purpose of the College Survival Guide Project is to create your very own personalized book that will guide you throughout your four years at IU East. The College Survival Guide Project will be graded on the on completeness, professionalism, originality, presentation and on-time submission. Each student will work individually and collectively to complete this project. Students will be responsible for a interviewing various IU East faculty and/or staff person. Over the next few weeks we willRead MoreEvaluation of Educational Testings Essay1153 Words   |  5 Pagesused: SMALSI C. Authors: Stroud, Kathy Chatham   Reynolds, Cecil R. D. Publisher: Western Psychological Services E. Year of publication: 2006 F. Intended grade/age level of use: Ages 8-12, 13-18 G. Intended purpose: To measure strategies students actively employ in learning and test taking H. Test category: Study skills I. Description of test components: A manual, test forms for child and teen, profile sheets for child and teen, scoring template for child and teen, audio CD, and handbookRead MoreEssay about Axia College Survival Guide1316 Words   |  6 Pagesprovides stability and growth, which furthers individual qualities in our society. Students attending college should have access to all necessary tools, guidelines and materials to achieve the best education. The purpose of this paper is to provide college student with a Survival Guide while attending Axia College. The topics discuss in this paper are as following: College Student Survival Guide provides student with information on topics about Axia’s Educational Resources, Upholding Academic HonestyRead More My Teaching Philosophy Essay564 Words   |  3 PagesI believe that education extends far beyond the classroom walls, and involves many more people than students and teachers. People should be learning wherever they go, and shou ld continue learning long after they’ve graduated from high school or college. Education isn’t something that can be quantified with tests or report cards, but is instead something that people carry with them. It’s a survival pack for life, and some people are better equipped in certain areas than in others. People with a solidRead MoreCurriculum Guides for Academic Interventions Essay999 Words   |  4 PagesRunning head: CURRICULUM Curriculum Guides for Academic Interventions Meghan Powell Grand Canyon University lt;SPE 558gt; March 27, 2013 Strategies used: Student Engagement amp; Peer-Assisted Learning (Center for Innovations in Education, 2006) Educational Purpose: Student Engagement: To keep the student actively engaged will keep them away from having time to behave inappropriately (CISE, 2006). . It will also keep them from wanting to veer away from the educational activity. TheRead MoreAlices Adventures in Wonderland1304 Words   |  5 Pagespersonified rabbit, and a caterpillar who smokes from a hookah. These characters hold a common feature of madness, yet the nonsense of this novel relates to the nonsense of Lowell High School, a public school that piles bricks of pressure on their students leading them to madness. Although, Alices Adventures in Wonderland contains a series of puzzles that seem unsolvable, it symbolizes a strong foundation that helps Lowell High School ninth graders gain knowledge about surviving the competitive school

Does Private School Competition Improve Public School Performance free essay sample

DOES PRIVATE SCHOOL COMPETITION IMPROVE PUBLIC SCHOOL PERFORMANCE? THE CASE OF NEPAL Amrit Thapa Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for The degree of Doctor of Philosophy Under the Executive Committee of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2011  © 2011 Amrit Thapa All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT DOES PRIVATE SCHOOL COMPETITION IMPROVE PUBLIC SCHOOL PERFORMANCE? THE CASE OF NEPAL Amrit Thapa In developed countries, the evidence on the impact of school type on student performance is mixed. Researchers are also interested in finding out the effect of private school competition on educational outcomes. The evidence on this for developed countries is mixed as well. What is the effect in developing countries? There are not sufficient studies for developing countries to reach one conclusion. Using data from the survey of the Ministry of Education, Nepal-2005 for School Leaving Certificate Exam (SLC), this dissertation attempts to seek answers to the above two issues for the case of Nepal. The first part of this study analyzes private and public school performance using OLS and logistic models. The study adopts the propensity score matching technique to account for the selection bias problem. The second part of this dissertation attempts to explore the impact of private school competition on public school performance using the number of private schools in the neighborhood as a continuous measure of competition. A binary measure of competition is also used where school is defined to face competition if there is more than one private school in the vicinity of the sample public school. However, in this analysis, there exists an identification problem because private school enrollment is likely to be correlated with public school performance. To address this problem, the study uses the existence of a motorable road within an hour’s walking distance from the sample school as an instrument for number of private schools in the neighborhood. The results from the OLS and logistic estimation on the effect of school type on student performance show that public schools consistently have a negative relationship with student performance. On the impact of private school competition on public school performance, the OLS results show no significant relationship using both continuous and binary measures of competition. In contrast, the IV method indicates a positive and significant impact of private school competition on public school performance, which holds true for both types of measures of private school competition. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page INTRODUCTION .. Background 1 Motivation of this study.. 2 Research Questions 4 Significance of the Study EDUCATION SYSTEM IN NEPAL 7 Country Background. 7 The Educational History . 9 The Present Education System . 10 Education Administration and Governance in Nepal 2 Department of Education 16 Other Agencies under the Ministry of Education .. 18 Education Expenditure and Finance in Nepal 22 Financing of Education in Nepal 24 Challenges and Problems in Education Finance. 7 Current Situation and Issues . 29 Public and Private Schools in Nepal.. 30 Private Schools: Evolut ion and Current Issues 36 Teachers Market .. 38 School Leaving Certificate (SLC) Examination .. 9 i DATA . 50 The context . 50 Data Source and Sampling Strategy .. 54 Information on Missing data.. 5 Fixing missing data problem. 56 Exploratory Data Analysis.. 59 Variable Description .. 60 Summary Statistics. 5 Correlations. 67 AN ANALYSIS OF PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SCHOOL PERFORMANCE IN NEPAL .. 72 Introduction. 72 Theoretical Framework. 73 Literature Review 3 Evidence on Developed Countries. 73 Evidence on student performance in developing countries .. 81 Evidence on student performance in Nepal .. 82 Evidence on Private Tutoring .. 87 Models and Identification Strategy. 0 The Basic Empirical Model .. 90 Probit Model for SLC Result 91 Probit Model for The Medium of Exam . 92 Probit Model for Private Tutoring . 93 Empirical Issue: Self Selection .. 94 ii Propensity Score Matching 94 Chow Test 104 Estimation and Results 106 Specification and Diagnostic Analysis . 06 Initial Results . 109 Chow Test 111 Blinder- Oaxaca Decomposition.. 114 Results from Propensity Score Matching 115 Results from Probit Models 17 Conclusions.. 122 THE IMPACT OF PRIVATE SCHOOL COMPETITION ON PUBLIC SCHOOLS .. 130 Introduction.. 130 Theoretical Framework.. 131 Background on Education Market and Competition .. 31 Literature Review .. .. 133 Evidence Using Herfindahl Index 135 Evidence using Private School Enrollment. 137 Evidence Using Other Measures of Competition 138 Evidence on Nepal .. 40 Models and Identification Strategies .. 141 The Basic Empirical Model 141 Identification Problems Strategy 142 Estimation and Results 145 iii Specification and Diagnostic Analysis . 45 Validity Check for Instrument Variable .. 148 Power Check of the instrument. 150 Empirical Results . 150 Continuous Measure of Private School Competition 150 Binary Measure of Private School Competition . 54 Conclusions.. 154 CONCLUSIONS . 160 Summary of Findings.. 160 Discussion. 62 Policy Implications .. 1 64 REFERENCES 170 APPENDIX 181 iv LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2. 2. Number of Schools by School-Type and Level 11 Figure 2. 1. Map of Nepal.. 48 Figure 2. 3. Comparative SLC Result: 1990 2009 .. 489 Figure 4. 1. The distribution of residuals of the regression equation in the basic model 107 Figure 4. 2. Residuals Plotted against the fitted values .. 108 Figure 4. 3. Detecting outliers: Leverage vs. normalized residual squared 109 Figure 5. . The Distribution of Residuals of the OLS Regression Equation 146 Figure 5. 2. Residuals Plotted against the fitted values .. 147 Figure 5. 3. Detecting Outliers: Leverage vs. Normalized Residual Squared .. 147 Figure A. 1. Box Plot Diagrams of Variables used in the Study . 182 Figure A. 2. Histograms of Variables used in the Study . 185 v LIST OF TABLES Table 2. . Gross Enrollment Rate (GER) and Net Enrollment Rate (NER) by level and gender 12 Table 2. 5. Education Budget 23 Table 2. 6. Foreign Aid in Education 26 Table 2. 7. Performance in SLC Exam -2004 by School-type and Gender .. 38 Table 2. 1. Basic Statistics of Nepal and South Asia 43 Table 2. . Total Schools b y School-Type, Level and Development Region.. 44 Table 2. 3. Percentage of Public and Private School’s Enrollment in Total Enrollment by Level and Development Region.. 45 Table 2. 8. Percentage Trained Teachers and Student-Teacher Ratio in Public and Private Schools . 46 Table. 2. 9. Comparative Regular SLC Result (1990 -2009). 47 Table 2. 10. Regular SLC Result 2009 . 477 Table 3. 1. Original and Modified Sampling Frames .. 56 Table 3. 2. Variables Between 5 to 25 Percent Missing Values . 57 Table 3. 3. Mean score and pass rates in SLC by School-Type and Gender 66 Table 3. Summary Statistics .. .. 69 Table 3. 5. Correlation Coefficient: SLC Outcome and school type 71 Table 3. 6. Correlation Table: SLC Score and Private School Competition 71 Table 4. 2. Summary of estimates of the effect of school type on student’s performance in SLC Exam . 13 vi Table 4. 5. Estimates from Oaxaca-Blinder Decomposition . 115 Table 4. 6. Average Treatment Effect on the Treated Estimated by Nearest Neighbor Matching .. 117 Table 4. 1 Variance Inflation Factor .. 125 Table 4. 3. OLS Estimates of the Effect of School Type on Student’s Performance in SLC Exam .. 126 Table 4. 4. Probit Estimates of the Effect of School Type on Student’s SLC Result 128 Table 5. 2. First-stage equation of 2SLS.. 149 Table 5. 3. Estimates of Private School Competition on Public School Student’s SLC score 152 Table 5. 1. Variance Inflation Factor . 157 Table 5. 4. Estimates of Effect of Private School Competition on Student’s SLC Performance by School Type .. 158 Table 6. 1 Variables that are consistently significant in explaining student’s SLC performance 167 Table A. 1. Agencies under the Ministry of Education, Nepal. 181 vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My heartfelt thanks to my advisor, Professor Henry M. Levin, for his great help, support, guidance and encouragement throughout the four years of my doctoral study. He is not only an inspiring teacher and devoted professor, who teaches by setting a good example, but also a very kind soul. It has been a blessing for me to know, interact and learn from him. I sincerely thank Professor Mun C. Tsang, Professor Francisco Rivera-Batiz, Professor Ira Gang and Professor Randall Reback for having accepted to be on my dissertation committee and take the time to read and comment my work. In addition, I would like to thank Professor Jennifer Hill, Professor Thomas Bailey and Professor Judith Scott-Clayton for their valuable comments. I am very grateful to Dr. Saurav Bhatta and the Ministry of Education of Nepal for helping me with the necessary data for this dissertation. Dr. Bhatta’s prior study and valuable suggestions have indeed been a significant help for this work. I would also like to thank all my friends in the Economics and Education program for sharing their knowledge and being so helpful during my years at Teacher College. Finally, I am grateful to the Program in Economic Policy and Management (PEPM) at School of International and Public Affairs for awarding me with the teaching fellow position from 2009 to 2011, and for providing the financial assistance for my final dissertation defense. viii DEDICATIONS To my beloved Swami, Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, for His ever flowing Divine Grace and Blessings. To Nepal, my motherland. To my parents for their immense love, care and blessings. This work is my humble gift to them. To all my teachers, from my primary school till today who have been idols for me to observe, listen, learn and be inspired by. To Hal, for his continuous help, encouragement and support. God bless him. To my wife, my best friend and co-traveler of this journey of life. To my brother, Amrish and sister, Amrita, for being so full of love. To all my friends and the members of Sai family for their well wishes and goodness of heart. ix 1 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Background The issue of private versus public education has been of great significance both to the developed as well as developing countries. Further, the study of the dynamics that occur between public and private schools is attracting educational researchers around the world. The definition of public and private schools vary depending on who owns, manages and/or finances education. The concept of private and public may also vary depending on different education systems; and, for the purposes of comparisons it should be defined in a broad sense (Walford, 1999). In its pure form, we define public schools as those which are owned managed and financed by the state. On the other hand, private schools are those owned, managed and financed by parents’ association, business, non-profit organization or a religious institution and sometimes by the government. However, schools need not be ategorized as fully public or fully private; and could be a combination of both. For example, community managed schools are schools funded by the government, but managed by some non-government body, such as a community. The inclination of any school towards a particular system (public or private) depends on the degree of i) the prevailing provision (or management) and ii) fi nancing of education. When one of these dimensions is not under total government control, and responsibilities between public and private sectors over education are shared, we say that public education is privatized. One common example of this initiative is the government voucher schemes or subsidies to finance student’s education in private schools (see Friedman, 1962). Recent trends around the world also show that many developed and developing countries are seeking partnerships between the public and private sector to share costs and improve the provision of education. Governments in these countries are looking for alternative mechanisms of education delivery and financing outside of the public realm. These initiatives are promoted by budgetary stringencies and a greater reliance on the market to correct inefficiencies (CuellarMarchelli, 2003). Another important aspect of public-private school dynamics is the growing competition in the private sector, and its impact on school and student performance. Along with the study of public and private school performance, this dissertation focuses on the impact of private school competition on public school performance for the case of Nepal using data from the School Leaving Certificate (SLC) exam1. A background on the country and a discussion on the education system in Nepal, including the SLC exam are discussed in the second chapter of this dissertation. Motivation of this study Though Nepal’s education system has progressed significantly over the last few decades2, it continues to face huge challenges amidst its prolonged political instability. For example, the NER for primary students in 1980 was just around 16 percent, but by 2003, it had risen to 83. 5 percent (MOES, 2005a). Similarly, the number of schools and colleges has risen exponentially This is equivalent to 10th grade final examination, and the exam is administered by the government of Nepal every year. 2 Recent educational statistics on Nepal is presented in chapter 2. 1 3 over the last few decades. The retention of students, especially at the primary level, has always posed a big challenge to this country of 28 million. Still, 19 percent of the total school age population (age 5 to 16) are not in school. At the secondary level, the figure is even more alarming with 40 percent out of school (MOE, 2008). There is a very low participation rate in the upper stages of schooling. The literacy rate was only 55. 6 percent in 2009 (MOE, 2010). Disparities in gender, ethnic and economic groups, and locations are increasing year by year. For example, only 43. 3 percent of Nepal’s women are literate, compared to 70. percent of men (MOE, 2010). Schooling quality in public schools interpreted in terms of achievement rates is found to be very low. In addition, the public schools are left behind, and there is much disparity between the private and public schools in terms of quality and student performance. For example, based on the 2004 SLC results, compared to an average pass rate of 8 5 percent for private schools, the pass rate of public schools was only 38 percent. Similarly, while an overwhelming majority of private schools had pass rates in the 80–100 percent range, less than 7 percent of the public schools had such high pass rates. Furthermore, the average SLC score of private schools was around 39 percent above that of public schools (Bhatta, 2004). Given this consistent low performance of public school performance, private school competition is increasing day by day, especially in the urban areas. This increase in private school competition can also be attributed to various other reasons such as the ease of establishing a private school, the profitability of private schools, and the absence of limiting regulations on these schools by the government. In such a scenario, in addition to comparing private and public school performance, it is interesting to pose a question if private school competition has any impact on public school performance. In this regard, although there are many studies with data from developed countries, there is hardly any study in the case of developing countries. So far, to the 4 best of my knowledge, there has not been a single study on this topic that uses data from Nepal. This study attempts to fill this gap in the literature using data from the Nepalese Ministry of Education’s Survey and by applying various empirical techniques. Research Questions There are two main research questions in this study: i) Do private school students perform better than their public school counterparts after controlling for student, family, school and teacher characteristics? ii) Keeping other things constant, does private school competition have any impact on public school performance in the case of Nepal? The empirical models associated with the first and the second research questions are presented in Chapters 4 and 5, respectively. Significance of the Study The study of private versus public schooling is a topic of great interest at the present time. The topic is more interesting in the case of developing countries where demand for a better education system is rising day by day. In such a situation, a genuinely comparative study on the performance of private and public education becomes crucial to both education researchers and the policy makers. In addition, given the new movements of privatization of education in developing countries, the study of the effect of private school competition on educational outcomes is of even more importance. 5 This study is unique in several ways. First, the data for this study come from Nepal, a focus of very few Economics of Education researchers. Many people around the world have been taking a keen interest in Nepal, which has taken some significant turns over the years: from autocratic regimes to a democratic kingdom, to a Federal Democratic Republic. Nepal is at a turning point in its political history. It needs good information for both policy makers and the general public. Education is a crucial sector and the delivery of good education is very critical for the development of this poor nation. Unfortunately, very little literature is available that examines educational developments and their dynamics in Nepal. The Nepalese population has been shifting to private schools without clear evidence of their superiority and with great financial sacrifice for the majority of the population. In this context, this dissertation explores public and private schooling and examines the public-private linkages in the education sector. Thus, it can help fill this gap in the literature. Secondly, School Leaving Certificate (SLC) examinations are, by far, the most important school-level exams for the majority of Nepalese (Bhatta, 2005). This study uses data on the SLC examination collected by the SLC study team under the sponsorship of the Ministry of Education, which is one of the most comprehensive data sets collected so far in Nepal relating to SLC examinations. In Nepal, there are just a few studies that explore private and public school performance, and they lack systematic empirical evidence. Even among those that use empirical models, they fail to take account of the selection bias problem that usually cripples such an analysis. By this I refer to the fact that the two groups of schools do not enroll the same types of students. For example, private schools have more resources and certainly have students from families with higher socio-economic status for peer effects. These are omitted variables or non-observables. Thus, it is very likely that these differences account for the overall differential in achievement between public and private 6 schools rather than the sponsorship. This study adopts the propensity score matching and instrumental variable method to address such problems. This makes the study richer as compared to those that do not account for such serious methodological issues. Moreover, this study is one of the first empirical studies on the impact of private school competition on public school performance in a developing county. Therefore, in addition to Nepal, this study may also provide some insights for other countries that share similar characteristics in the education sector. The rest of the dissertation is organized in the following way. Chapter 2 presents an overview of education system in Nepal. The chapter discusses historical developments in the field of education in Nepal, features of public and private schooling in Nepal, and a description of School Leaving Certificate (SLC) exam. Chapter 3 deals with the data source, the missing data problem, method used to address this, and a description of the study variables. Chapter 4 presents a comparative analysis of private and public school performance. The chapter includes the guiding theoretical framework, the relevant literature, the model and identification strategy, and the study findings. Chapter 5 addresses the second research question, and studies the impact of private school competition on public school performance. Similar to the structure of Chapter 4, this chapter discusses the relevant background, the previous literature, the model and identification strategy and the empirical results. Finally, Chapter 6 concludes with a discussion on the policy implications of the findings of this study. 7 Chapter II EDUCATION SYSTEM IN NEPAL Country Background Nepal is a tiny landlocked country in Asia located between India and China with population of about 28 million. After the overthrow of King Gyanendra in 2005 by the people’s movement, the country became a Federal Democratic Republic. Geographically, the country is divided into five development regions, 14 zones and 75 districts3. The five development regions are: Eastern, Central, Western, Mid -Western, and Far-Western. Kathmandu, the capital of the country, and the only metropolitan city of the nation, is located in the Central region. In terms of ecological belts, it is divided into three regions: Mountain, Hill and the Plains, where the Mountain region lies in the north sharing a boarder with Tibet, and the Plains shares a boarder with India in the south. The hilly region is the central region that includes the Kathmandu Valley4, which has a population of around 1. million. The majority of the population in Nepal belongs to the Hindu religion. According to the 2001 Census, Hindus comprise 88. 87 percent and Buddhists 8. 59 percent of the total population, whereas the rest of the population belongs to other religions (CBS, 2002). The Hindu system is further categorized into four castes: Brahmin, Chhetri, Vaisya s (Newars) and Sudra (Dalits), where Brahmin is the highest caste, and Dalits are the lowest and most disadvantaged caste. Besides this, there are ethnic groups (Janjatis) that belong to the community which have their 3 4 Map of Nepal with 5 development regions and 75 districts is given in Figure 2. 1 Note that Kathmandu Valley consists of three major districts: Lalitpur, Bhaktapur and Kathmandu. The capital of the country refers to Kathmandu district. 8 own mother tongues and traditional cultures, and yet do not fall under the conventional four-fold Hindu hierarchical caste structure. Historically, many of these Janajati groups used to occupy a particular habitat or territory, and thus many of them claim that they are the true â€Å"first settlers† (Adivasi) of Nepal. As per the census report of 2001, of the total population, 65 percent belong to the Hindu caste system, 31 percent belong to Janjatis (ethnic groups), and 4 percent belong to the other caste/ethnicity. There are at least 92 languages spoken as mother tongues in various parts of the country (CBS, 2002). Although Nepal is known to the world as land of the Himalayas, and is very rich in biodiversity, cultural and linguistic diversity, it is still one of the poorest countries in the world. As shown in Table 2. 1 that reports the basic national indicators for Nepal5, its poverty rate6 is 30. 8 percent with GDP per capita of only $473 (CBS, 2010). Life expectancy at birth is 64. 1 years, and the literacy rate for citizens15 years and older is 55. 6 percent, 70. 7 for males and 43. 3 for females (CBS, 2010). According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP, 2010), the human development index (HDI) ranks Nepal at 144 out of 169 countries with an HDI value of 0. 428. The country’s economy has suffered badly due to prolonged political disturbances in the country, especially the Maoist guerrilla war that spanned the years from 1996 to 2005. Although the war has now ended, the country is not still able to recuperate from the damage sustained in all sectors of the economy. The education sector is also one of the most affected. The sections below discuss Nepal’s educational history and the education system at present including the description of the SLC examination. 5 6 Also presented in Table 2. 1 is Statistics on South Asia for comparison purpose. The poverty rate is around 55 percent using the international definition of those earning $1. 25 a day. 9 The Educational History Nepal has come a long way in the education sector. Modern education in Nepal is believed to have begun with the establishment of the first school in 1853. However, this school was confined only to the ruling families and their courtiers. The general population gained access to education only after 1951 when a popular movement overthrew an autocratic family regime and initiated a democratic system. In 1951-52, the adult literacy rate (15 +) of the country was just 5 per cent with about 10,000 students in just 300 schools and two colleges (CBS, 2003). With the introduction of a comprehensive Education Plan in 1971, the education sector began to expand. The National Education Sector Plan (NESP) of 1971, financed by USAID, attempted to create a single unified system of public education in order to empower district education offices to run schools. However, under this law there was no inclusion of School Management Communities (SMCs). Due to this situation, only elite groups who utilized SMCs benefited from public education, and local communities were left out. As centralized rural development initiatives failed, there was demand for decentralization of state services. As a result, the Decentralization act of 1982 and its by-Laws from 1984 tried to empower local panchayats7 by giving them functional responsibilities in various central political programs (Carney Bista, 2009). By the late 1980s, the need for urgent reform in schooling was felt and hence a comprehensive US- funded study was undertaken called ‘Improving Efficiency of Educational Systems’ (IEES). This study identified systematic management weaknesses in the central educational bureaucracy and recommended renewed decentralization of educational management (MOEC/ USAID, 1988). 7 A village council in Nepal, India and Southern Pakistan is referred as Panchayat. 10 After the people’s movement of 1990 established a democracy in the country, education development was realized more successfully and more rapidly. A simple example was seen in the rapid rise of the Net Enrollment Ratio (NER). The NER for primary students in 1980 was just around 16 percent, but by 2003 it had risen to 83. 5 percent (MOES, 2005a). Yet, the quality of public schools still remained very poor and; the demand for private schools increased rapidly. The private sector started to expand in size dominated by resource- rich families. By 1998, there was a significant growth in the private sector due to the prevailing school liberalization policy (Carney Bista, 2009). The problems arising from this expansion were rampant fee charge and considerable variability in the quality of private schools. Eventually, the Government’s poor performance and laissez-faire approach was aggravated by Maoist activists keen to bring changes to the country. In spite of the fact that Maoists had ended the war and joined the mainstream politics after the people’s movement in 2005, political instability and disturbances continue to cripple most of the key sectors of the country, including the education sector. The Present Education System The structure of the present education system constitutes six sections: Pre-primary (below Grade 1); Primary (Grade 1 to 5); Lower Secondary (Grade 6 to 8); Secondary (Grade 9 and 10); Higher Secondary (Grade 11 and 12); and Higher Education (University level) (MOE, 2010). Table 2. 2 gives the present number of total schools by school level, school type and development region in the country. As shown in the table, there are presently 31,655 primary schools, 11,341 lower secondary schools, 6,928 secondary schools, and 2,512 higher secondary schools in the 11 country. Out of these, the central region has 9,538 schools, the highest among all the regions, with 2,213 schools in the Kathmandu valley alone. In terms of school type, as figure 2. 2 shows, presently there are 41,959 public schools and 10, 477 private schools in the country, with predominance in the number of 31,655 primary schools. In percentage terms, public schools constitute around 80 percent of these schools and private schools only 20 percent. At the secondary grades (9th and 10th), there are 4,715 public schools and 2,213 private schools. In higher education, there are five universities with 834 constituent and affiliated campuses. In total, including all levels of education, there are 7. 9 million students and 251,805 teachers involved in this teaching learning process. Table 2. 3 reports the percentage of enrollment of the total enrollment in public and private schools. In the secondary grade, the percentage of public and private school enrollment of the total enrollment is 83. 1 percent and 16. 9 percent, respectively. Figure 2. 2. Number of Schools by School-Type and Level Public and Private Schools by level 45000 40000 35000 30000 S c h o o ls 25000 20000 15000 10000 5000 0 P LS S School level HS Total Public Private Source: MOE (2010) 2 Table 2. 4 shows the gross enrollment ratio and net enrollment ratio by school levels8. As shown in the table, in 2009, the combined gross enrollment ratio (GER)9 was 98. 6 percent, with 141. 4 percent, 88. 7 percent and 65. 7 percent enrollment at the primary, lower secondary and secondary levels, respectively. The combined net enrollment rate (NER) was 65. 9 percent, wit h 93. 7 percent, 63. 2 percent and 40. 8 percent enrolled in primary, lower secondary and secondary levels, respectively. Table 2. 4. Gross Enrollment Rate (GER) and Net Enrollment Rate (NER) by level and gender Levels Female 146. 89. 3 64. 5 24. 6 100. 0 GER Male 137. 1 88. 2 66. 8 22. 6 97. 4 Total 141. 4 88. 7 65. 7 23. 6 98. 6 Female 92. 6 61. 9 40. 1 6. 8 64. 9 NER Male 94. 7 64. 3 41. 4 6. 8 66. 8 Total 93. 7 63. 2 40. 8 6. 8 65. 9 Primary LS Secondary HS Combined Source: MOE (2010) Note: Combined is for Primary, Lower Secondary and Secondary Grades Education Administration and Governance in Nepal The Ministry of Education (MOE), established in the country after the dawn of democracy in 1951, is the supreme body of all educational organizations and responsible for the 8 The Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) is given by the ratio of actual students enrolled to the number of potential students enrolled. The Net Enrollment Ratio (GER) is given by enrollment of the official age group for a given level of education expressed as a percentage of the corresponding population. 9 Combined is for primary, lower secondary and secondary grades. 13 overall development of education in the country. In 2002, it was renamed the Ministry of Education and Sports. Again in 2008, with the decision of the cabinet, it was renamed as the Ministry of Education and has remained so until the present. A Cabinet Minister at the political level heads the Ministry whereas two secretaries head the MOE at the bureaucratic level (MOE, 2010). The Ministry is responsible for formulating educational policies and plans, and managing and implementing them across the country through the institutions under its jurisdiction. For example, the Central Level Agencies (CLAs) under the Ministry are responsible for designing and implementing programs and monitoring them. Five regional Education Directorates (REDs) are responsible for monitoring the programs undertaken by the district level organizations. There are 75 District Education Offices (DEOs) at the district level and 1,091 Resource Centers (RCs) at the sub- district level as the main implementing agencies for the educational policies, plans and programs at the local levels. At the function level, the Ministry oversees the following four divisions, each headed by a joint secretary who is a gazetted first class officer: i) An administrative division ii) A higher education and educational management division iii) A planning division, and iv) A monitoring, evaluation and inspection division. The main functions of the administration division are personal management and development. It is responsible for recruitment, transfers, promotions and capacity building of the staff as well as procurement and property management. The major areas of work of higher education and educational management division are related to school education scholarship and higher and technical education. The planning division assumes responsibility for policy development and analysis. This division is the entry point for donor agencies in the education sector and coordinates foreign aid for designated for implementing programs and projects in education. The monitoring, 14 evaluation and supervision division carries out monitoring activities in conjunction with program implementation and maintains a database on educational statistics (MOE, 2010). The Ministry of Education has undertaken many programs and projects since its establishment. Among the completed projects are the following. With the help of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), it completed the Teacher Education Project (TEP) that was implemented from 2002 to 2009 with the total budget of US $24. million. The main objectives of the project were i) to conduct quality pre-service, in-service and refresher training for primary teachers ii) improve institutional capacity to conduct training programs, and iii) improve the participation of women and disadvantaged groups in teaching careers. Another project named the School Management Transfer and Incentive Program was implemented from 2003 to 2008. With the assistance of the World Bank, the total budget of the project was US$ 5. 11 million. The objectives of the project were i) to increase parent’s participation in the management of community schools ii) improve the access, quality and capacity of students in the community school, and iii) make all stakeholders accountable by increasing the transparency of functions of the community school. In the area of secondary education, the Ministry, with the help of grant from Denmark and a loan from the Asian Development Bank (total budget US $ 75 million) completed a program entitled Secondary Education Support Program (SESP). The aim of the program were i) to improve the quality and relevance of public secondary schooling ii) to improve access to public secondary schooling, with a particular emphasis on girls, students with disabilities and students from poor and disadvantaged groups and districts, and iii) to develop institutional capacity and management of central and district education institutions and public secondary schools based upon a decentralized system of planning and management. Another widely known program is Education for All (EFA). This was implemented from 2004 to 2009 15 with the help of multiple international organizations and donor nations and with a total budget of US$ 814. 5 million. The major objectives of this program were to: i) ensure access and equity in primary education ii) enhance the quality and relevance of primary education iii) improve efficiency and institutional capacity. With the partnership of the World Food Program (WFP), the MOE also undertook Food for Education Program (FEP) from 2002 to 2011 with the total budget of US$ 224. 25 million. The objective of the program was to increase access to basic primary education and improve the nutrition and health of children within regions with food deficits and low access to education. Partnering with the United Nation Population Fund, the MOE undertook the Population Education Program over the period 2008 to 2010 with the total budget of US$ 2. million. The goals of the program were to i) include reproductive health issues in school curriculum ii) develop policy programs for gender equity, and iii) increase national support for gender equity. There are many programs that are on-going. For example, with the partnership of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Ministry has been implementing the Skills for Employment Project (SEP) since 2005 with a total budget of US$ 25 million. The project’s specified aims are to: i) increase access to market oriented short-term skills training particularly for women, Dalits (oppressed caste) and the disadvantaged ii) strengthen training for providers to enhance access and improve the relevance and quality of training, and iii) develop and articulate a new national policy to achieve greater integration, relevance and efficiency in the Technical Education and Vocational Training (TEVT) sector. Another ongoing project being implemented since 2007 and with the assistance of the World Bank is the Second Higher Education Project (SHEP). The project has a total budget of US$ 60 million with goals to: i) enhance the quality and relevance of higher education and research through a set of incentives for promoting effective management 16 and financial sustainability of academic institutions, and ii) improve access for academically qualified under-privileged students, including girls, Dalits and educational disadvantaged Janjati to higher education through financial assistance and enhancing the capacity of higher secondary schools. Another big and important project that the MOE has been implementing since 2009 with the help of the World Bank, ADB, Denmark and Norway is the School Sector Reform Program (SSRP). With a total budget of US$ 2,626 million, the project aims to: i) strengthen the policymaking process in education ii) reform the educational sector through an integrated approach and iii) expand and consolidate the concept of Education for All (EFA) best practices and lesson learnt, and iv) build the capacity of stakeholders. There are various agencies under MOE at the central, regional, district and local levels that help in the functioning of these efforts to achieve the Ministry’s objective and goals. This is presented in Table A. 1 of the appendix section. Department of Education One of the principle agencies under the MOE is the Department of Education (DOE). The DOE was established in 1999 to institutionalize and regularize activities related to the Basic and Primary Education Program (BPEP). After the establishment of the Department, most of the activities performed by the BPEP were shifted to the Department and the BPEP as a project ceased to function. Due to this, basic and primary education related activities carried out by the Department were also referred to as BPEP II. Presently, the Department, with its direct line of command with the regional and district offices and with full administrative and financial authority takes the responsibility off implementing and monitoring educational programs in the country. The Department is headed by the Director General, a gazetted first class senior officer 17 belonging to education service cadre. The five Regional Education Directorates (REDs) and 75 District Education Offices (DEOs) fall under DOE and perform their tasks to meet the Department’s objectives. The Department has the following three divisions each headed by a director, a gazetted first class officer: i) An administration division ii) A planning and monitoring division, and iii) An educational management division. The main role of the administrative division is to take responsibility relating to general and personnel administration, financial administration, educational materials distribution and physical services. The planning and monitoring division is in charge of planning, monitoring, research and development. Finally, the educational management division is entrusted with the responsibility relating early childhood education, basic and primary education, women’s education, special education and educational statistics. The roles of the Department of Education as specified by the Ministry of Education include: i) providing equal access to education ii) developing quality reforms iii) improving internal and external efficiencies, and iv) developing education as a development-friendly venture. Soon after the establishment of the Department of Education, a few important programs were put forth. For basic and primary education, these programs included improvements of access to primary education, school management, and the upgrading of teachers’ standards at the primary level. In terms of increasing women’s access to education, the programs included increasing female enrollment, encouraging greater numbers of educated women to go into teaching as a profession, increasing the competition rate of the primary education of female students, and providing scholarships to female students at various levels. Finally, to improve general literacy levels, a campaign was instituted to eliminate illiteracy altogether (MOE, 2010). According to the education regulations of the DOE, public or government-aided schools are managed by School Management Committees (SMCs). The compositions of SMCs, 18 academic content, textbooks, and examination systems are uniform throughout the country. The DOE is also responsible for appointing the teachers, including the head-teachers. In addition, the DOE nominates the District Education Committee (DEC) which in turn nominates the SMCs. The government District Office, within the DEC, is headed by a District Education Officer in all of the 75 districts in the country. In fact, this is the most influential unit that designates tasks for each school to implement. It is the responsibility of the DEC to set the school calendar, provide teacher salaries, organize teacher training programs, perform supervisions, and audit the school accounts (MOE, 2010). Other Agencies under the Ministry of Education There are other important agencies that were established to help the MOE set its objectives. For example, National Center for Educational Development (NCED) was established in 1993 along with the nine Primary Teacher Training Center (PTTCs) in various parts of the country at the recommendation of the National Education Commission, 1992. Since 2004, the NCED has been the main body under the MOE that is responsible for human resource development in the education sector. Presently, the NCED conducts training programs through its 34 Educational Training Centers (ETCs) established at different strategic locations of the country. Another important academic institution under MOE is the Curriculum Development Center (CDC), which was established in 1997 with an aim of designing curricula and textbooks along with other instructional materials for school education. This center conducts annual as well as periodical discussions, interactions and dissemination programs on the usefulness of the instructional materials. In addition, it also conducts research-oriented programs to make education relevant, practical and competitive. 9 The Office of the Controller of Examinations (COE) established as the secretariat of the SLC board in 1934 operates and manages the School Leaving Certificate (SLC) examinations in the country. Although the OCE mainly conducts the SLC examinations, it also organizes shortterm trainings, workshops, seminars and carries out researches related to school level evaluation system. In the non formal sector, Non Formal Education Center (NFEC) was established in 1951 along with Adult Education Sectio n within the MOE in order to carry out adult literacy programs in the country. The center has been taking the responsibility of all non-formal education programs, primarily the basic literacy program as the only scheme for reducing illiteracy in the country. The agency under the MOE that keeps the record of public school teachers is called School Teacher Record Office (STRO). Established in 1998, the major functions of the STRO is keeping and provision of necessary data and information related to the permanent teachers of the community (public) schools. It also helps to facilitate delivery of post-service benefits to retired teachers like pension benefits, gratuities, family allowances, education allowances and children’s allowances. The Teacher Service Commission (TSC) was established in 1999 to make recommendations to the government for the permanent appointment and promotion of the teachers of public schools. The commission provides the teaching license necessary to the candidates for securing the post of a teacher, and also provides suggestions on the issues related to service terms and conditions and facilities for the teachers. With the introduction of the New Education System Plan (NESP) in 1971, the Regional Education Directorate (REDs) was established with the purpose of enhancing the efficiency of educational administration processes as well as to bring these closer to the people and the school. The five REDs are located in the 5 development regions of the country and are responsible for bringing out uniformity in district level programs and for coordinating, monitoring and 20 supervising the school level teaching learning as well as development activities within the region. For the district level offices in the educational administration, the District Education Offices (DEOs) are established in each of the 75 districts of the country. With a major role to facilitate the task of school administration and supervision, each district is sub-divided into different supervision clusters ranging from 3 to 27 on the basis of school population and geographic locations. A Resource Center (RC) is established in each of the cluster with a Resource Person (RP) to provide professional support and services to the schools within the cluster. RPs are selected among the teachers of RC catchments areas. Presently, there are altogether 1,053 RCs through out the country, which are supervised, evaluated and monitored by a School Supervisor. The Higher Secondary Education Board (HSEB) is responsible for the 10+2 education system in the country. Established in 1989 under the Higher Secondary Education Act, the board works towards the needs for addressing middle level manpower requirements and for importing necessary knowledge and skills to those students who want to continue their education at the undergraduate level. In the higher education division, the supreme body is the university senate, which is responsible for making policy decisions. The University Grants Commission (UGC) established under the University Grants Commission Act 1993 assists the government in managing the fiscal aspects and funding policies of higher education. The commission’s major role is the proper allocation of grants obtained from different sectors for the management and development of the Universities in the country. Tribhuvan University, established in 1959 is the first university in the country. It was only after the establishment of this University that higher education within the country was available to the general Nepalese people. Presently there are five other universities located in different parts of the country. The main institution for 21 conducting educational research in Nepal is the Center for Educational Research, Innovation, and Development (CERID), which is affiliated with Tribhuwan University. The CERID is headed by an Executive director and undertakes educational research projects, including collaborations with several foreign institutions. Likewise, commissions like the Nepal National Commission for UNESCO, established in 1954 that functions under the chairmanship of the education minister has been serving the Ministry in establishing mutual relationships amongst the member states of the UNESCO. The commission also advises the government of Nepal in the field of education, science, culture, social and communications that is within the jurisdiction of UNESCO (MOE, 2010). In the private sector, the Private and Boarding Schools Organization, Nepal (PABSON) is an active and widespread umbrella organization of Private and Boarding Schools in Nepal. It was established in 1991AD and registered with the Government (the then HMG) of Nepal. PABSON is guided by its own constitution and acts as an umbrella organization for all its member schools. It performs its functions through various central, regional and district committees, sub-committees and departments, duly elected as per the provisions of its constitution. The PABSON is also acting as a nodal agency in coordinating with various government agencies, non-government agencies and other stake holders on all matters pertaining to school education, especially those concerned with private sector education. In addition, the other functions of the PABSON are i) coordinating with all education stake holders in trying to resolve all issues relating to private schools including framing policies to control private schools ii) determining criteria for basic fees structuring iii) protecting private investment in schools iv) safe guarding the interests of employees, and iv) ensuring the discharge of social responsibilities by private schools. 22 Education Expenditure and Finance in Nepal The government of Nepal has specified that the educational budget is distributed in the schools across the countries in the following ways (SMAERC, 2009). The first and the most usual method is called ‘incrimination’. In this method, the budgeting decisions (increase or decrease) in education or some particular sub-sector for a particular year is done on the basis of the previous year. The second is called ‘formula funding’. The kind of budgeting is based on some rationale so it is distributed only on the basis of some specified objective principle with emphasis on equitable opportunity, responsibility and accountability. The third is called ‘program budgeting’ with a special focus on a specific program. In this type of budgeting, the budget is allocated in such a way that it is sufficient to cover all expenditures required by the specified program. The fourth is the hybrid or mixed strategy, where resources are managed and mobilized in more than one way. From 1975-1990, Nepal spent about 10 percent of its annual budget on education and this increased to 13 percent in the Eighth Five-Year Plan during 1992-1997. As a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), this spending ranged between 1. 3 percent and 2. 0 percent between 1975 and 1990 (MOF, 2004). After 1990, these figures improved to a significant level. Table 2. 5 reports data on the educational budget from 2000 to 2010. As seen in the table, the national effort on education (percent share of education in GDP) has slowly been increasing over the years. For example, in 2000, it was 2. 5 percent and it was 3. 8 percent in 2010. The percentage of the government budget allocated to the education sector has been 15. 3 percent on average in the last decade. At present, 16. 3 percent of government budget is allocated to the 23 education sector. The growth rate of the educational budget is also constantly increasing over the years with the ten-year average being 16. 1 percent. The subsector distribution is dominated by primary education, which is more than 60 percent of the total education budget. Table 2. 5. Education Budget Fiscal Year 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 National Budget (N. Rs) 77238226 91621335 99792219 96124796 102400000 111689900 126885100 143912300 168995600 236015897 285930000 Education Budget (N. Rs) 10176074 11749579 14072847 14402421 15613274 18059654 21250447 23005525 28390000 39086407 46616672 % of GDP in Education 2. 5 2. 8 3. 0 3. 1 3. 1 3. 5 3. 6 3. 7 3. 6 3. 7 3. 8 % of Education Budget 13. 17 12. 82 14. 14. 98 15. 25 16. 17 16. 75 15. 99 16. 8 16. 56 16. 30 AGR of Education Budget 15. 5 19. 8 2. 3 8. 4 15. 7 17. 7 8. 3 23. 4 37. 7 19. 3 Source: MOE (2010), EFSF (2009) Note: AGR= Annual Growth Rate The major portion of government expenditures for school education in Nepal is usually spent on teacher and staff salaries and fringe benefits. For example, a study by Center for Educational Research, Innovation, and Development in mid- nineties found that in public primary schools, the expenditure on teacher and staff salaries was 86 percent, as compared to 63 percent in private primary schools. In public secondary schools, this expenditure on salaries was found to be 76 percent in the public sector as compared to only 52 percent in the private sector (CERID, 1996). A more recent paper by Ministry of Education by EFSG (2009) has stated that out of the total grants that a public school receives in an academic year, around 80 percent goes 24 to teacher salary and construction support. The study also points out that the expenditure on teaching learning materials, capacity development of teachers, library development and computer education is very small. Financing of Education in Nepal The first modern school, Durbar High School was established in Nepal during the Rana regime in 1853. The school was initiated with the view to providing education mostly to the children of the ruling class, but was not for the common people. School education was financed mostly by the national treasury and partly by community households. Besides this school-based education, the practice of home-based tutoring was also established where this would be financed by the households alone. This system still seems to be in practice, though in a somewhat modified way. When the democracy was established in the country in 1951, the financing of education evolved in two ways: i) community financing in the case of schools established by the public, and ii) through a system of joint financial contribution – shared by the community (parents) as well as the government, in the case of government supported schools (SMAERC, 2009). The National Education System Plan was introduced in 1971. After this, schools that were established and run by community financing were transformed into government-owned entities, and were financed mostly by the government and artially by the parents through the tuition fees. However after 1980s, a more liberal approach was established by the government where new schools were allowed to open as a result of the efforts of the community or by private initiatives. Hence, with the introduction of the private schools in the country, there was a clear distinction on 25 the two types of financing: government financing and parent/ student financing. This system has remained in practice to the present time. There are basicall

Why Might Zara Fail Essay Sample free essay sample

One of the chief grounds why Zara has become a outstanding planetary dress company is because of Zara’s laminitis Amancio Ortega Gaonathe’s thought of implementing perpendicular integrating. a method of uniting both distribution and fabrication. to cut down costs and better efficiency. Because manner tendencies are systematically altering. Zara needed to implement a procedure that designs. industries. and delivers dressing merchandises rapidly and efficaciously. This thought of implementing perpendicular integrating into its cardinal procedures has created a competitory advantage for Zara. Although Zara continues to be one of the taking vesture dress companies in the industry. there are assorted factors that could lend to its ruin. One of the grounds why Zara has increased its gross since its foundation is because it has successfully globalized its company without holding to alter its cardinal values. Zara’s doctrine and the appropriate sum of employees to back up each of its shop locations have allowed Zara to implement its ain individuality and trade name into different parts and markets. We will write a custom essay sample on Why Might Zara Fail? Essay Sample or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page However. if Zara were to of all time alter its growing schemes in contrast to its beliefs upon which the company was founded. Zara would basically neglect. For illustration. if Zara were to run from the top down instead than the bottom up. alter its organisational construction. alter its manner image. or chooses non to pay attending to alterations in the market. so failure would happen. While Zara has been successful in using its trade name and doctrine across a assortment of states. it has besides had issues come ining into other markets. such as the Japanese and Chinese markets. because of their traditional methods of concern and defined civilization. In order for Zara to be successful in these markets it can’t travel about â€Å"colonizing† the state into accommodating Zara’s doctrine. Zara must accommodate to the market that exists in that state and finally ease into presenting its company’s doctrine. Similarly. Zara is holding problem come ining the U. S. market because. harmonizing to the instance. the U. S. is capable to retailing overcapacity. is less fashion-forward than Europe. and demands larger sizes on norm. Another cardinal issue is the job of location and existent estate infinite. It is really hard to set up shops in the best sites of the biggest capital metropoliss because the markets are really fast. Because three or four companies in the markets compete for square inches of existent estate in the major capitals. new companies have a difficult clip come ining the market. Another menace of failure that lingers Zara is their inability todevelop a strong supply concatenation in the Americas. Zara’s current scheme in Europe has given them success and ability to turn. Outside Europe nevertheless. Zara lacks the kernel of strong internal production and distribution installation. bring forthing in little batches. and presenting in short-lead times in international markets. In add-on. alterations in foreign currency market can besides be a possible menace. Production costs may increase if the Euro becomes stronger against the Dollar. taking to higher costs of dresss to the concluding consumer. A last possible menace to Zara’s dining concern is its direct competition. H A ; M. The Gap. and Benetton are all looking at international markets to heighten their growing chances. In contrast to Zara’s thought of maintaining its trade name consistent across states. H A ; M’s scheme is to come in one international market at a clip and bring forth apparels based on the specific country’s gustatory sensations. Because H A ; M has similar monetary values and manners to Zara. H A ; M and similar international dress industries pose as a menace to Zara’s hereafter success.

Year of Wonders Essay Essay Example

Year of Wonders Essay Essay Example Year of Wonders Essay Paper Year of Wonders Essay Paper Essay Topic: Equus Background of the novel: 1. William Shakespeare wrote most of his known dramas between 1589 and 1613. and died in 1616.2. Elizabeth I was succeeded by James VI of Scotland ( going James I of Great Britain upon his crowning ) . in 1603.3. Between the old ages of 1649 and 1660. during the English Civil War. England had no sovereign ; alternatively. the state was temporarily ruled by Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell as a military/parliament. 4. In seventeenth Century England. many people believed that enchantresss were abound and were the cause of a assortment of otherwise difficult-to-explain behavior amongst people ; if a individual were found guilty of witchery. they were sentenced to decease by hanging. 5. Puritans were those of a peculiar division of the Christian religion. differing notably from other subdivisions in largely their positions on morality. which they believed to be improbably of import – and pursued down to the finest degree of item – and the construction and mode of their worship ( eschewing the intervention of outside beginnings. such as swayers of the land. into faith. and non seeking felicity by normal agencies. taking it alternatively from their belief that they were moving harmonizing to God’s will ) . 6. ( I couldn’t reply the first portion of this inquiry. as after seeing multiple versions of the book’s screen at that place seems to be no repeating phrase to see as a ‘subtitle’. ) Historical Fiction: 1. While some people may keep the outlook that historical fiction would be based on facts and research. painting a realistic image of its scene. I would state that such an premise is non. or at least should non be. normally present ; historical fiction is labelled as ‘fiction’ for a ground. and as such is grounded excessively much in alternate world. taking excessively much to supply amusement instead than information. to be considered an accurate. researched portraiture of its scene. Of class. there are exclusions – Year of Wonders. in portion. being one – but even that does non supply a realistic adequate image of its clip and topographic point to do the outgrowth of such an outlook of factual proviso going platitude in the genre seem a good thought. 2. I believe that an author’s ability to determine their stuff into an effectual and prosecuting narrative holds a higher place of importance than their willingness to adhere to historically accurate happenings ; if the writer aims to steep their audience in the narrative. so every other facet of the book is secondary to that end. In the same manner as one would be unwise to try to compose a good book about a purposefully deadening premiss or character. there is small point in keeping historical truth if such care detracts from the amusement of the piece. Even if the purpose is non amusement. but instead the conveyance of a peculiar subject. the same logical thinking applies – there is small to no ground in keeping historical truth if the subjects being presented could be done so far more efficaciously without such truth. 3. Although it is evidently of import in any medium to avoid anachronic happenings that could take away from the narrative. I do non hold that the ‘anachronisms’ in Year of Wonders could be classified as such. in that they do non look to be genuinely anachronic at all. By this. I mean that the attitudes of the chief characters do non look incredible. even sing the book’s puting. as any epoch will ever hold those who think otherwise – so. if non for this. this outgrowth of persons traveling against the position quo who may obtain the rare opportunity to act upon others. mankind’s common values would neer hold changed since its origin. Each of the characters in inquiry seems to hold been written with adequate account of their ain values and attitudes that they are justified. even within the context. While these fortunes are surely unlikely. they are non impossible. and trying to name those two things one and the same is kindred to labelling twenty-four hours the same as dark by the mere fact that they lie following to each other in the rhythm of clip. Reading the Novel: 1. It would look that the ground for which Geraldine Brooks gave the name Year of Wonders to her novel is that. despite the annihilating effects of the pestilence on Anna’s life. there genuinely were ‘wonders’ that happened for. and about. her in that twelvemonth. She grew closer than she of all time may hold expected to a good friend ; she salvaged many an guiltless life with her ( albeit shaky at first ) willingness in being a accoucheuse. which finally led to her happening what she believed her true naming ; she witnessed her town’s sacrificial act of goodness. saving guiltless bystanders from sharing in Eyam’s wretched destiny ; and. finally. she managed to happen felicity. emerging from that most seeking twelvemonth scathed but still really much alive. re-starting her life anew and settling down with two healthy. happy kids to name her ain. 2. Here is a list of my initial feelings of the characters in Year of Wonders: * Anna – A miss whose artlessness was taken from her by that which she has experienced. looking embittered and disillusioned with the universe around her but standing as a strong pillar of kindness in malice of that. To those familiar with the nomenclature – for I can believe of no better term for Anna’s character – she seems at first ( and throughout the narrative ) to be a ‘Mary Sue’ . * Michael – A once-great adult male driven into an about catatonic province by the events of the pestilence. * Elizabeth – An unpleasant adult female. spoilt to the point of unbelievable greed and selfishness by the fortunes of her upbringing. * Jamie – A kid like any other. energetic and speculative. * George – Good and kindhearted. to the degree that these qualities become leery. * Jane – A priggish and serious immature miss. seting her spiritual positions above all else in her life to a possibly obsessional extent. * Sam – Dull. yet sort ; a simple adult male. content with his life. * Tom – A typical babe ; along with Jamie. he is the topic of his mother’s devotedness and love. and much of her ground for life now that Sam is dead. * Elinor – Kind and carefree. yet brooding and devoted ; Anna’s image of flawlessness. * Mem – A adult female weathered by the universe. demoing built-in goodness behind a more crabbed outside as she remains to be given to a small town of people who think none excessively extremely of her. * Anys – A immature miss demoing the same Weltschmerz. disposition and consciousness as her aunt. though whose morality is possibly more tarred due to her selfishness. her bluntness and her neglect for typical values. * Stanley –Similarly to Jane. a individual who treats worship and morality as being about synonymous with life itself. * Aphra – Self-absorbed to the extreme and paranoid towards any outside forces in her l ife. * Lib – A representation of a typical miss of the Middle Ages. functioning as a foil to Anna’s more progressive character. * Colonel Bradford – A selfish. ill-mannered adult male. holding grown accustomed to mistreating the power granted to him. * Miss Bradford – A typical rich adult female of the times. sing her wealth as a item of high quality. * Robert – A roving immature adult male of high-toned birth. seeking simple amusement after go forthing his place town of London. * Mary – An everyday adult female on face degree. desiring merely a field and happy life. * Surgeon ( s ) – [ Grouped together because they are of identical dispositions ] Fearful work forces. seeking non genuinely to assistance others at critical points but instead to derive a stock of money from their work and remain in safety themselves. * The Sexton – A hard-working old adult male. seeking simply to make his responsibility in a most hard clip. * Brad â₠¬â€œ Though non peculiarly evil. a superstitious. desperate and stupid adult male. * Faith – Much the same as her male parent. Brad.* Urith – The same as Brad.* Martin – Same as above.* Maggie – A hard-working. honest peasant adult female.* Jenny – Same as above. * Brand – A cautious adult male. but one who has goodness within him. * Jakob – Kind and suiting. despite his hard batch in life. * Josiah – A cruel and angry adult male non afraid to utilize his strength to acquire his ain manner ; like his married woman Aphra. he seems to reject anything other than the construct of ego. * Sally – An wholly guiltless victim. her decease looking representative of that which makes the villagers start to abandon their religion. * Kate – Another desperate. simple peasant adult female. seeking safety but throwing off ground in an effort to make it. * Merry – Like Sally. Merry is a below the belt victimised kid. but unlike her. Merry appears to stand for hope and strength. * Alun – A gruff adult male. set in his ways. but with a good sense of right and incorrect. * Randoll – A simple villager with a good bosom. * Henry – Another field villager. of a gruff and unpleasant disposition himself. but angered back into caring about morality by Josiah’s actions. * Lottie and Tom – Desperate parents who have suspended their incredulity of the supernatural in a vain effort to protect their kid. * John – A adult male whose already-fragile head snapped from the fright and heartache of the pestilence. spurring him to reckless action. * Urith – Meek ; locked up in concealing due more to fear of her hubby than of the pestilence. * James – A saddening old figure. his religion tested by his continued endurance while more meaningful lives pass off in forepart of his eyes. * Mrs. Bradford – A fearful adult female. whose subservience to her hubby is so great as to excel her attention for her child’s life. * The Innkeeper – An honest. fair-minded adult male with a good sense of justness. * Ahmed – Refined. sort and accepting. 3. Brooks’ descriptions of the small town and countryside are used to make suspense by portraying the alteration from a normal. absolutely functional town to a broken wreck ; references of laughter. of playful kids and of the sounds of work. are replaced by a fateful silence. while the town itself becomes overgrown and filled with decay. The ground that these scenes – scenes of a once-lively town reduced to an image of decease – create suspense is that. no affair where the characters focus. they will be presented by a reminder of the ruins around them. demoing them merely how close they are to that destiny themselves. 4. The positions developed by Brooks throughout the narrative seem to unite into one chief subject – a willingness to oppugn the position quo. to demo that the current province of things may non ever be for the best. This is shown through category divides ( oppugning whether the affluent genuinely deserve their privileged position. as evidenced by the selfishness of the Bradfords ) . comparative gender equality for the times ( as both work forces and adult females play a important function in halting the terminal state of affairs from being even worse ; if. as was typical of the times. merely the work forces had been allowed to make up ones mind on issues – and. for illustration. Anna and Elinor had non been able to take to move as accoucheuses – the decease toll may good hold been higher ) . and the firm finding to comprehend the pestilence as a spiritual happening instead than a natural one ( which. by concentrating eyes in the incorrect way. probably caused th e loss of many lives ; if the true ground for the pestilence had been discovered earlier. more effectual countermeasures could hold been taken ) . This general subject. and its constituents. reflects modern-day attitudes instead accurately – recent society has surely become more unfastened to altering the position quo. and such things as gender equality and decreased outlooks of faith seem to hold worked instead good in altering society for the better. 5. Contrast between characters can be seen between multiple braces in Year of Wonders. Anna seems to hold four chief contrasting characters. each of a different sort – foremost. she and Aphra are contrasted in their desires. with Anna’s being mostly for the well-being of other people while her stepmother’s are selfish. Michael Mompellion could be considered the 2nd contrast to Anna. as he is an ab initio strong adult male weakened by his tests and losingss while Anna’s seem to function merely to beef up her resoluteness in the terminal. Anys is the contrast to Anna’s 3rd specifying characteristic ; while Anna is a instead traditional miss despite her single ways. and hides much of her true ego and her sentiments inside. Anys’ positions would non look wholly common in our twenty-four hours. and she has small reserve about talking her head bluffly. Finally. Anna’s state of affairs – that of a strong. surpassing adult female. hidden behind the mask of a cautious. commonplace miss – is opposite to that of Elinor. who appears in Anna’s eyes to be a near-flawless adult female radiating energy but is internally scarred and in convulsion. Elinor. with her changeless kindness and equal intervention despite her high-toned household background. has another contrasting character of her ain in Elizabeth. the rich girl of the William bradfords who abuses her power and thinks merely of her ain desires. One more outstanding contrast is between Colonel Bradford and Michael – while both being intelligent work forces. the Colonel seeks to use this intelligence merely to protect himself. whereas Michael aims to help those around him. The Structure of the Novel: 1. It seems that flashback has been used here for a battalion of grounds ; it allows for a more direct before-and-after contrast to demo the development of her character throughout the twelvemonth ( by virtuousness of snarling from one to the other ; in a gradual build-up. the alterations would be less noticeable ) . it reveals the inevitable terminal of the narrative so as to put an accent on the book’s characters and puting instead than its plot’s branchings. and it creates a sense of wonder as to merely how events transpired within the focused-upon twelvemonth to make such alteration as can be seen. 2. While get downing with a flashback is. as antecedently explained. effectual in puting up a assortment of waies to put the foundation for stating a narrative. it is non a solve-all solution for storytelling ; some facets of the narrative can non be satisfactorily fleshed out without the reader holding some pre-established cognition of the characters. puting and such things. and so I imagine that is for this ground that Brooks decided to revisit this clip. 3. While I am non certain on this fact. it would look that the in-between 13 chapters of the narrative were so narrated in chronological order ; if this is non the instance. so I would possibly state that the signposting to demo this mistiming was deficient. Leaf-fall. 1666: Apple-picking Time: 1. Key character interactions and citations in this gap chapter are: * Anna’s devotedness to the deteriorated Michael Mompellion. bestiring wonder as to what led to the state of affairs. * Michael’s heartache and resentment over the loss of Elinor. * The cold. vindictive attitude held towards Elizabeth as a member of the Bradfords. * The reference that Josiah ‘loved the pot more than his children’ . * Elizabeth being ‘sour-faced and spoiled’ . * ‘His manus is on the bible. but he neer opens it’ – Michael’s spiritual wonts contrasting with his tattered religion. * Anna’s motivations in caring for Michael. demoing her devotion of Elinor: ‘I do it for her. I tell myself I do it for her. Why else would I make it. after all? ’ * Michael’s cold narration of a transition from the Bible. demoing farther his heartache from the loss of Elinor and his feeling of treachery from God: ‘Your married woman will be like a fruitful vine within your house ; your kids will be like olive shoots around your table†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 2. I think that Brooks chose to utilize first-person narrative because it would look that the narrative she seeks to state is chiefly one of a individual girl’s character development ; while third-person authorship allows for a greater range of focal point on multiple characters or a wider narrative. the first-person position tends to let the author to more accurately portray the nuanced ideas of an person. and so it seems more adjustment for this intent. Another possible ground is that this subjective first-person narrative. shown through the imagined eyes of Anna Frith. paints the emotions and feel of the puting better than a first-person narration may pull off to easy make. 3. Archaic and dialect words contribute to the narrative by making a more realistic scene ; in a similar manner to the aforesaid illustration of mistiming ( an antediluvian Roman have oning a ticker ) . the story’s sense of pragmatism would be broken if the occupants of a little. seventeenth century British town were to talk merely as we do today. 4. Aside from the stated phrases. noteworthy marks of decay. loss and disenchantment in this chapter are: * ‘The courtyard hadn’t been swept in a sennight. It smelled of decomposing straw and Equus caballus urine. ’ * ‘If there’s one thing I couldn’t stand any longer. it’s the aroma of a decomposition apple. ’ * ‘†¦sometimes I feel that I’m be givening merely another in that long emanation of dead. ’ * ‘My neighbours’ bungalow was empty. the Hedera helix already crawling across the Windowss and the Grey lichens crusting the Sillss. ’ * ‘ [ Nature ] has taken less than a twelvemonth to get down to repossess its topographic point. ’ 5. Some illustrations of analogues between the physical devastation of the garden and the religious devastation of Michael are: * The thought that Elinor would be regretful to see what had become of her garden ; merely as it has been dirtied with weeds. so excessively has Michael’s spirit been corrupted by his choler and heartache. and Elinor would be most saddened to see what had become of this once-strong adult male. * In relation to the old point. Anna comments. ‘I expect she would understand why it is so’ . * Anna besides comments on how cipher could truly reconstruct Elinor’s garden back to its former glorification. pulling comparings to how – no affair what attempts Anna or any others may do in bettering Michael’s province of depression – they could neer be given to him with the same accomplishment as his married woman could hold ; he could neer return to being the steadfast bastion of strength that he was when he stood with Elino r’s support. 6. It does non. to me. seem that Anna’s comparative stableness in the face of Michael’s mental prostration indicates a message of feminist resiliency ; regardless of Brooks’ purpose. the two merely seem to be different people. defined in this facet by their characters instead than their genders. This position is supported by Aphra’s autumn into perverse insanity. which surely contained no message of adult females being inherently strong. 7. Examples of the complexnesss of Anna’s character shown in this chapter are: * Her prioritising of compassion above tradition – ‘A retainer has no right to remain. one time she’s dismissed. But I did stay†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ ( Page 4 ) * Her hesitancy to allow any life be in demand. unhappiness or danger – be givening to the Equus caballus ( ‘I kept chattering. quietly. as I used to with the kids when they were scared or hurt. ’ ( Page 5 ) ) . non desiring to draw out the works ( ‘like me. so brimming of terminations that they can non bear to twist even a scrawny sapling from its tenuous clasp on life. ’ ( Page 12 ) ) .

Crack Writers Can Lay Easter Eggs

Crack Writers Can Lay Easter Eggs Crack Writers Can Lay Easter Eggs Crack Writers Can Lay Easter Eggs By Mark Nichol Do you like Easter egg hunts? No, not the kind with puzzled toddlers and woven baskets and brightly colored candy and hardboiled eggs. The type of Easter egg in question is a hidden message or other feature in any piece of content or even a computer or software program. A variation on this theme is naming or describing someone or something in a story to give readers a clue about a plot element. Writers employ this device all the time, merely by giving a character an evocative name. The moniker of Ebenezer Scrooge, for example, thanks to its grating, discordant qualities, does not inspire a reader to visualize a kindly, generous figure (though names can be or, in this case, can become deceiving). But authors can go a step further and foreshadow plot revelations or twists by assigning a name that, at least for some readers, will hint at later developments. Here are a few examples of this strategy (which, for all I know, may have another name): The Egg of Columbus Speaking of eggs, an anecdote about Christopher Columbus features him countering the claim that anyone else could have accomplished his feat of discovery by challenging others to stand an egg on end. When they fail to do so, he taps the egg on a table, breaking the end, and sets it upright on its now-flattened base. (A similar, possibly apocryphal story predates this incident, which itself may or may not be historical.) This analog to the Gordian knot or a reference to the Gordian knot itself, part of the lore of Alexander the Great could allude to an offbeat solution to a problem. Kobayashi Maru This is the name of a fictional spaceship in the Star Trek universe, the subject of a computer simulation that tests a prospective Starfleet officer’s character by presenting a scenario in which the vessel is disabled in forbidden territory. The exercise, similar in theme to the riddles of the Egg of Columbus and the Gordian knot, is ostensibly a no-win situation: The simulation program cheats so that the test subject always loses, thus guaranteeing that the focus will be not only on the person’s approach to solving the problem but also their reaction to the failure. However, several Star Trek films, series episodes, and novels refer to efforts to subvert the test. In your story, a ship or person so labeled perhaps with the names inverted will tease knowing readers with the understanding that some similar stratagem is in the offing. Arthur Conan Doyle The creator of Sherlock Holmes can lend his name to any one of a number of intriguing ideas. A character named Doyle (using the full name would be overkill) might allude to sleuthing or presents a link to one of the following alternative notions: At least one researcher suspects that Doyle was a conspirator in the Piltdown Man hoax, in which a fossil skull found in England in the early twentieth century was believed to be the fabled missing link between apes and humans. Doyle became an ardent spiritualist after the deaths of his wife, a son, and other close family members, and argued for the existence of fairies. He was a friend of escape artist Harry Houdini until the latter’s antispiritualism crusade, during which Houdini debunked fraudulent psychics and mediums, led to an estrangement. Doyle also created another legendary character, Professor Edward Challenger, hero of The Lost World and other adventures. This post does not suggest using these specific examples; my hope is that they will inspire you to cook up some of your own Easter eggs purchased in your store of knowledge and served in a story in the appropriate genre. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Fiction Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:"Because Of" and "Due To" Broadcast vs Broadcasted as Past FormA "Diploma" is not a "Degree"