Kathmandu, May 26

The parliamentary Committee on Women, Children, Senior Citizens and Social Welfare today tabled the bill on the eighth amendment to the Education Act-1971 in the Parliament.

The bill was forwarded to the committee by the Parliament on January 4, 2016 for further discussion. The committee endorsed the bill yesterday.

According to Ranju Kumari Jha, president of committee, they have proposed categorising school education into two levels  basic education (Grade I to VIII) and secondary education (Grade IX to XII).

Currently, there are four levels in school education  primary level (Grade I to V), lower secondary level (Grade VI to VIII), secondary level (Grade IX to X) and higher secondary level (grade XI to XII).

The bill also proposes transforming Higher Secondary Education Board, which regulates higher secondary schools across the country, into National Education Board, which would conduct the national-level school termination examinations.

Implementation of the government’s School Sector Reform Plan launched in 2009 has hit snag due to lack of required laws. The bill, if passed, is also expected to end the decade long problem of temporary teachers.

The government had earlier agreed to give permanent status to temporary teachers through internal competition. If the bill is endorsed, temporary teachers would be allowed to fight for permanent status.

Similarly, the bill also envisions a provision of golden handshake for those seeking voluntary retirement.

While finalising the bill yesterday some parliamentarians such as Banshidhar Mishra, Rajendra Pandey, Sri Maya Thakali and Sindhu Jalesha had demanded a provision allowing operation of schools as a cooperative.

If the bill is approved, it would be forwarded to the President for authentication.