Kathmandu, October 6, 2006

The seven-party alliance is hopeful that the talks slated for Sunday between the prime minister and Prachanda will produce results.

Talking to journalists at a tea party hosted by the UML to mark Dashain, PM GP Koirala struck this note of optimism. “Everything will be positive and we will try to find a solution to all the problems in the talks,” he said.

He admitted that the the SPA and the Maoists still have points of disagreement, but added that they would all be ended.

“We are moving ahead with a commitment to make the talks the last one. We are determined to bring a solution in this round, even though we may have to continue the talks for several days,” he added.

Maoist spokesperson Krishna Bahadur Mahara said that Sunday’s talks will bring a positive result. “We are close to an agreement. But we can say something about the result only after the talks,” he said.

But UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal indicated that the homework for the talks is still insufficient.

Freeship-for-poor provision worries school owners

Owners of private schools have expressed concern over the government proposal of making it mandatory for private schools to provide full scholarships to 10 per cent of total students studying in private schools.

Once the bill to amend the Nepal Act regarding some issues on Education and Sports, which is in the House for discussion, is enacted, the private schools will have to provide full scholarships to 10 per cent of total students, who are poor and in need.

The new bill to amend the Nepal Act regarding some issues on Education and Sports, which is in the House for discussion, has made mention of the provision. Around eight lakh students are studying in about 10,000 private schools.

Karna Bahadur Shahi, general secretary of the National Private and Boarding Schools Association Nepal, told this daily today: “The government proposal of providing 10 per cent scholarships out of total enrollment is not feasible.”

“The flat rate of providing scholarships to the needy would only hamper the private schools, which belong to the ‘C’ or ‘D’ category,” said Shahi.

“There are schools which have been providing scholarships as per their capacity,” Shahi said, adding: “The government proposal binding all private schools to provide 10 per cent full scholarships to the poor students would affect the schools, which have been charging nominal fees.”

Stating that private schools have been providing scholarships, Bhoj Bahadur Shah, vice-president of the Private and Boarding Schools Organisation Nepal (PABSON), said the proposal of providing 10 per cent scholarships to the poor and the needy students would affect the schools.