KATHMANDU: The Higher Secondary Schools Association of Nepal (HISSAN) on Wednesday submitted a memorandum to Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel putting forth several demands including scrapping of the one per cent service tax imposed on the education sector.

HISSAN in its memorandum urged the government to arrange scholarship for students of remote areas including Karnali through higher secondary schools instead of imposing tax on the education sector.

The memorandum recommended that a scholarship fund worth Rs 200 per student be set up. For this, the state, however, should make necessary adjustment on tax the higher secondary schools are obligated to pay, the memorandum noted.

HISSAN is ready to collaborate with the government for enhancing education standard of public secondary and higher secondary schools under its public private partnership model, the memorandum claimed.

The government should provide necessary incentives for small and crisis-hit higher secondary schools if the latter wanted to go for merger, it demanded.

HISSAN Chairperson Ramesh Silwal demanded that the government arrange soft loans to support higher secondary schools' plan to purchase land, house and equipment.

Receiving the memorandum, Finance Minister Paudel said that the demand would be implemented after holding consultations with concerned thematic experts.