Education minister brings roadmap for education sector

Kathmandu / Apr 11: Minister for Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) Giriraj Mani Pokharel on Wednesday unveiled a seven-page roadmap for the education sector.

Also three years ago, when he was education minister, Pokharel had brought a similar plan, but the plan could not be implemented efffectively.

The presentation was scheduled to begin at noon on Wednesday but the minister arrived nearly one hour late.

His 10-point roadmap includes policy reforms, structural and organizational improvement, early childhood education, mass commitment to improve quality of public education, monitoring of private education sector, technical and vocational education among other things.

The roadmap has promised to provide free education gradually upto Grade 12, formulation of quality accreditation policy within a year, curriculum development in a month, one mother-tongue school each in all seven provinces, one-door policy on technical and vocational education, establishment of scientific research centers, human resource management system, boarding public schools for disadvantaged groups, good infrastructures and quality education in public schools, and effective teaching learning methodology.

Similarly, other plans include expanding tele-education, timely distribution of school textbooks, health program at schools, free scholarship for 10 percent students at private schools, education loan, open education upto Grade 12, development of science and technology and research institutes. The minister’s roadmap plans to bring human resource policy within six months and new education act within five months as per the spirit of Nepal’s Constitution 2015.

“These are parts of the plan presented three years ago,” said Minister Pokharel. “It is just a preliminary roadmap. We will work in coordination with the provinces and local bodies as we have to formulate law within five months,” he said. “Many factors play crucial roles for making them fully successful,” added, without ensuring guarantee for real implementation of plans.