Kathmandu, July 4

Lawmakers have demanded a concrete policy to improve the quality of education throughout the couBudntry.

Participating in the budget discussion session in the Parliament today, lawmakers said the government’s policy towards community schools was responsible for the current mess in the education sector.

Ram Narayanan Bidari, a lawmaker from CPN-Maoist Centre, said the education sector should be the government’s top priority. “We must set aside the largest chunk of budget for children’s future,” he added. He also asked the government to allocate security budget in a scientific way.

Lawmaker Prem Suwal from Nepal Workers and Peasants Party criticised the government for the delay in tabling the Khwapa University bill in the Parliament.

CPN-UML lawmaker Ranju Kumari Jha demanded one university in each of the seven provinces. Ganesh Man Gurung, another lawmaker from the party, said moral education should be made compulsory in the school curriculum.

UML lawmaker Ganesh Thaguna said public schools in remote districts were faring badly due to lack of subject teachers. “While the teacher-student ratio is higher in cities, public schools in remote places lack enough teachers,” he added.

Nepali Congress lawmaker Ram Hari Khatiwada urged the government to set up administrative unit in each rural municipality.

CPN-MC’s lawmaker Hari Gyawali urged the government to introduce the concept of ‘smart city’ in concrete form and to allocate budget on the basis of necessity. He also demanded that the home ministry set up quick response mechanism to deal with disasters.

The Parliament today discussed budget allocation for the ministries of urban development; home affairs; labour and employment; finance; education; and law, justice and parliamentary affairs.