Kathmandu, 20th February, 2015 : Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Bamdev Gautam has pointed out the need of restructuring the state by maintaining social, economic and ethnic balance as parties have announced to go for federalism.
While inaugurating the conference on “education and federalism” organized by Private and Boarding Schools’ Organization Nepal (PABSON), in the capital today, DPM Gautam said that the state cannot be restructured on the basis of ethnicity as it would lead to the disintegration of the national harmony and integrity, and would ultimately lead the country on the way to confrontation.
He added that only one province in the Terai region would not be accepted and the provinces should be linked with the Terai and mountainous belt.
DPM Gautam said the managerial weakness of the government has created an attractive environment for private schools to flourish, adding that the education policy should be service- centred rather than business guided, and education should produce skilled manpower that could be competitive and salable in the international market.
He added that the government would frame such an education policy after the management of current transitional politics.
Similarly, Minister for Information and Communications Dr Minendra Rijal said that risk seen in current education system should be addressed.
He added that with the establishment of democracy education sector has made a big progress and achievement.
Minister Rijal suggested that each private school should take responsibly of managing one remote based community school. He further said that he was ready to take such responsibility through the Apex school in which he was involved.
He further said that parents should select the schools for their children and schools should be managed from the community level.
Stating that the re-structuring of state would be clear in the process of constitution drafting, Foreign Minister Mahendra Bahadur Pandey spoke of the need to mull about how to govern on the basis of the authority granted by the people at the time when citizens are endowed with sovereignty.
Minister Panday underscored the need of formulating a new education policy that would enrich students with the knowledge to industrialize and making the most of the natural resources available in the country.
He said, “We should increase investment in research and emphasize the manufacturing of new and innovative products instead of continuing the consumption of products manufactured by other countries.”
The minister also expressed that a special policy could be brought into effect under the Company Act in view of facilitating those private schools that were willing to be service-oriented.
He argued that no one should run an intervention to the works of government in the name of constitution that is due to de delivered.
Similarly, stressing on the implementation of the public private partnership concept, in the education sector in Nepal, Professor Dr Franz Josef Radermacher of the University of Ulm, Germany, urged to be mindful about maintaining the internal peace and political stability while adopting federalism.
Likewise, Education Secretary Bishwa Prakash Pandit opined that the education sector here was lacking good-governance. Pandit, while commending the contribution of the private schools in the education sector in the country, expressed that the private schools should fulfill their social responsibility.
Secretary Pandit stated that those students failing in the School Level Certificate exam should be provided with vocational training and employment accordingly.
Lakshya Bahadur KC, Chairperson of PABSON, appealed with the government to exempt tax to the private schools, giving them the legal status.
In the conference, national and international experts presented their respective papers on ‘education and federalism’.
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