Kathmandu, May 11 National Campaign for Education, a network of 286 non-government organisations, today welcomed the government policy and programme, which was unveiled by President Bidhya Devi Bhandari on May 8. Issuing a press statement today, it claimed that the government through its policy and programme had taken initiatives to address issues of the education sector. It also hailed the government’s commitment to providing compulsory and free education up to the secondary level.“We demand that the government ensure sufficient budget for the education sector,” read the statement. It said the NCE wanted to draw the attention of concerned authorities to prepare their programmes in a scientific way. “The government’s plan to launch television programmes targeting children who don’t have access to schools and provide free education at all levels to children from Dalit and marginalised communities is a progressive step,” it said. It also drew the attention of government to bring programmes to mainstream children who were out of school. The government needs to have enough budget for effective and appropriate implementation of such programmes, it said. “We hope formation of high-level Education Commission will help strengthen the quality of government schools, where more than 80 per cent of Nepali children study,” it said.