Kathmandu, July 22:

Experts and students today asked the government to clarify as to why it decided not to publish the names of SLC toppers.

Speaking at a function organised here by the Reporters’ Club Nepal, Dr Tirtha Khaniya called on the government to explain as to why it decided to do away with the decades-old practice of publishing the list of top ten scorers of the SLC.

Terming the decision unethical, he noted that the decision against publishing the toppers’ list is made whenever the education minister is from the CPN-UML. In 1995 too, the then UML government had decided not to publish the list of top scorers.

Dr Bidhya Koirala said the SLC Examination Board should publish not only the top 10 ten scorers’ list, but also of toppers from among Janajati students, from the Terai region, etc, in an era of pluralism.

Swatantra Gautam of Nightingale School, who scored 92.63 per cent, supposedly the highest score in the SLC examination, said the decision was tantamount to cutting off wounded hands.

“The decision can’t be justified citing unhealthy competition. The practice of not publishing making public the toppers’ names is also an unhealthy practice.”

Sugandha Neupaney, who scored 87 per cent marks, said the decision made the students feel there is no democracy in the country.