‘Efforts underway for structural reform in education sector,’ says Minister Shrestha

Kathmandu: Minister for Education, Science and Technology Sumana Shrestha has appraised the parliament that efforts were being made for structural reform in the education sector.

Responding to the queries raised by parliamentarians in a meeting of the House of Representatives today, Minister Shrestha said that all sides should work responsibly towards improving the education sector apart from the Ministry itself.

All sides as stated by Minister Shrestha meant teachers, school management committees and parents among other stakeholders. She argued that structural reforms would not be brought forward by talks or reshuffling the ministers and said preparation was afoot to form a task force that would furnish recommendations for structural reforms of this sector.

Also, the Minister informed the lower house of the Federal Parliament that works were being undertaken to prepare a mechanism that would examine the quality of education and ensure provision wherein the education field-related employees would work in the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.

Moreover, work was being carried out to form a separate service commission for the principals of the community schools. Regarding the dismal results of SEE (Secondary Education Examination) published recently where more than half of the students failed, she opined that a thorough review should be considered on the result.

The Minister shared that the ‘Curriculum with Society’ programme was brought that would link education with the labour market and thus directed the concerned authorities to prepare a curriculum for the schools and universities that would link the curriculum with employment.

Other reformative measures her Ministry is undertaking at present include studying the formation of school management committees cutting down the vacancies of teachers in the primary level and increasing the vacancies in the higher level to do away with the imbalance seen in the teacher-student ratio, she added.

A plan has been devised to add 1,000 rooms in community schools as stipulated in the upcoming fiscal year’s budget while the plan will be implemented in 240 local levels that lag in the human development index, said Minister Shrestha.

As for the Tribhuvan University’s land encroachment case, decisions would be taken after the report is submitted by the investigation task force coordinated by former secretary Sharada Prasad Trital, she said.