Spardha Chand
Kathmandu, May 15: Here’s how Barsha Aryal spent what would have been her first semester of undergraduate college after finishing her +2. She worked for a magazine, interned with some newspapers, read lots of books written by everyone Voltaire to Ruskin Bond to hone her writing skills, and learned Spanish. She used her ‘gap year’ to explore herself, to taste freedom. In short, she decided to breathe a bit freely.
“A year’s break has helped me fine- tune for the courses I’ll be taking at college,” says Aryal, who plans to study literature.
There is a new trend among students –especially those going for studies abroad-of taking a year’s break before beginning their undergraduate education. While some students take it because of academic fatigue, some take it to explore their own interests, reflect a bit on life and prepare for a future course of action.
“Students can utilize the time to know themselves better” says Rajani Upadhyaya, the A-level coordinator of Rato Bangla School in Patan. “Most of them involve themselves in part time jobs, learn a foreign language and do some community service.”
She adds, “Students can learn from the outer world.”
Though the gap year is a matter of concern for parents who think that it may pose problem to their children academically, it’s a common trend these days, and universities abroad highly appreciate it.
“You’ve studied for thirteen years already, and if you don’t jump off this education treadmill for some time, you’ll ruin your college life,” says Garima Pradhan, a student who’s taking a year off before joining college in the US.
Upadhyaya says a gap year doesn’t mean a full stop to academics. “This can actually make your child more focused,” she says. “But it all depends on the students. It’s unwise to take a gap year if the student is academically poor. I believe such students should join a college right away to prevent more loss.”
On the other side, Pradhan’s mother Santa agrees with her daughter’s decision. “I totally support the decision of my child to take a year’s break. It’s been six months now that she has joined an INGO, and this has kept her very busy and I should add that she has become more sociable.”
Sabbaticals, as seen through the above instances, can be one of the many ways to recharge one’s batteries before hitting life’s superhighways in the later years.
