Universities should adopt new technologies: PM Prachanda

Kathmandu / Feb 24: Prime Minister and Nepal Sanskrit University (NSU) Chancellor Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ has said the universities can no longer be run in the traditional way.

Addressing the 75th Senate of Nepal Sanskrit University today, he stressed steering ahead the universities in a manner that maximum benefits can be reaped through the use of science and technology that has developed in the 21st century.

“The Sanskrit University should be taken ahead with new style and concept now and not in an old-fashioned manner. The University should be able to move forward adopting the new achievements developing at present and utilising them in a meaningful way for one’s interest,” the Prime Minister said.

Stating that serious discussions have been held regarding the University’s institutional development, its policy and programmes as well as on the problems and opportunities, he urged one and all for their implementation. PM Dahal thanked the responsible officials of the University, saying it was pursuing its academic, educational and physical development activities in a satisfactory way through the proper mobilisation of the available resources.

“The civilization, prosperity and progress of any nation stand on the foundation of education. Therefore, bringing improvement in the education sector and enhancing its quality is the main priority issue of the present government,” he said, adding that it was the government’s duty and responsibility to assist in raising the university’s curriculum and the standard of its teaching-learning high since institutions of higher education as universities lead the main awareness of the nation’s history, values and the cultural ethos.

The PM further said: “The government has adopted in its policy and programmes the policy of conducting motivational programmes for increasing student enrollment and access to higher education and expanding the ‘Earning while Learning’ scheme that aims to link education to skill, skill to work, work to employment, employment to production and production to market.”

Prime Minister and NSU Chancellor Dahal informed that the government also gives importance to the conservation, development and promotion of the religious and cultural sites mentioned in the Vedic and Puranic scriptures as well as preservation and management of the archives of national importance by employing modern technology.

Noting that he wanted to make the coordination among the universities run in the country more effective, he reiterated that the government has included in its policy and programmes such policies as research-based teaching-learning and making the University’s curriculum timely.

The Prime Minister called on the University to enhance its capacity and quality of education to cash on the available opportunities, saying the present time is the time of competition for quality.

Stating that the NSU was one of several institutions in Nepal that are highly rich in terms of immovable property, he regretted that this property could not be utilised for the development and expansion of the University over the past some years. PM Dahal urged the University to strive to attain economic self-reliance through the maximum utilisation of its properties and capability while conserving this movable and immovable capital.

He issued directives to put into practice the decisions made before regarding forming a high-level mechanism for resolving the problems related to the ownership and conservation of the 1,336 bighas of land and the 326 bighas of land property in the name of NSU in Deukhuri Valley and Dang Valley, respectively. He also pledged the government’s support for this.

The Prime Minister stressed that the University should be able to make the future generation conscious of the nation’s values and identity by providing intellectual leadership to the Nepali society along with respect to diversity. He called on the NSU to take into consideration the national uniqueness and characteristics while formulating its policy and programmes.