Ministry of Education consults with Universities’ Vice-Chancellors on law-framing

Kathmandu / Aug 25: Ministry of Education and Sports consulted with key stakeholders, including Vice-Chancellors of federal Universities in course of framing the Some University Act Amendment Bill.

In a discussion held at the ministry in Singha Durbar, today, inputs and recommendations were taken regarding amendments needed in the university act, university autonomy, good governance, educational and administrative reforms, and updating legal provisions as per contemporary needs.

Experts and stakeholders participating in the discussion highlighted policy reforms to make higher education qualitative, research-oriented, productive, and practical.

They emphasized the new law should enable environment to enhancing university capacity, maintaining educational quality, and making students capable of surviving in a competitive market.

On the occasion, Dr. Sudan Jha, a member of the National Planning Commission, said that universities should focus on improving educational quality and producing knowledge.

He stressed the need for every university to move forward embracing the concept of research and knowledge production.

Likewise, Chudamani Paudel, Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Sports, said discussions are important for educational reform in universities, building excellent universities, and creating solid policies related to higher education.

The ministry is preparing to introduce six bills related to the education sector in the current fiscal year, the secretary informed.

Shailendra Jha, chief advisor to the Education Minister, said that policy arrangements are needed to increase student attraction to universities.

Vice Chancellor of Tribhuvan University, Prof. Dr. Bhola Thapa, stated that the relevant legislation should be promptly introduced to make the university’s activities more effective and dynamic.

In the discussion, Vice Chancellors and representatives from Kathmandu University, Rajarshi Janak University, Far-Western University, Mid-Western University, Agriculture and Forestry University, Pokhara University, Purbanchal University, Nepal Sanskrit University, and Lumbini Buddhist University provided suggestions on higher education reform and matters to be included in the act.

Similarly, registrars, deans, professors from various universities, senior officials from ministries, representatives from the National Planning Commission, policymakers, and other stakeholders also participated.

The discussion was organized to collect opinions and suggestions on necessary reforms in the existing laws related to universities and higher education, the ministry said.

It covered the current state of Nepal’s higher education sector, improving educational quality, expanding research, and making higher education more effective and competitive. RSS