BHAKTAPUR: Minister for Education Dhaniram Paudel on Tuesday called for depoliticising the education sector.

Addressing the 23rd anniversary of the University Grant Commission (UGC) in Sanothimi of Bhaktapur, Minister Paudel said political interference in the academic field has remained a major hurdle for its development and such interference must be prevented at any cost.

A total of 96 academic programmes of foreign universities are in operation in the country, Paudel said, adding that the UGC should start monitoring the programmes to run them systematically.

Paudel emphasised that the Higher Education Bill which is stuck in the Council of Ministers would be passed as soon as possible.

Tribhuvan University Vice Chancellor Prof Tirtha Raj Khaniya said that delay in passing the Bill has affected the education sector.

The foreign universities' programmes in Nepal are just for certificates and not for promoting quality education, he claimed.

Similarly, UGC Board Chairperson Prof Dr Parasar Prasad Koirala demanded that the haphazard approval to run the foreign universities' programmes here should be stopped.