Kathmandu, September 8

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli today said the government was determined to declare the country fully literate within two years.

PM also said education system of the country should focus on knowledge and skill development among students, according to a press statement released to mark the 40th National Education Day and 53rd International Literacy Day. “We want to assure everyone that present government is committed to establishing system of education that is job oriented.”

He also urged educators to develop school curriculum in line with the government’s objective. A total of 51 districts out of 77 districts in the country have been declared fully literate.

Meanwhile, President Bidhya Devi Bhandari said the government’s investment in education sector should be result-oriented. “The government’s initiative and investment for achieving quality education must be productive,” she said.

President Bhandari said this during a award ceremony held for outstanding students at Rastrapati Bhawan, Sheetal Niwas, this morning. She also stressed the need of coordination among federal, provincial and local levels to reform public education system.

A total of 231 students from Nepal and abroad achieving ‘different title’ were awarded ‘A-grade’ Nepal Bidhyabhusan Padak by the president. As many as 101 students were awarded ‘B-grade’ Nepal Bidhyabhusan Padak and 11 students with ‘C grade’ Nepal Bidhyabhusan Padak. As many as 23 female students of bachelors level from different universities of the country were awarded Nepal Chhatra Bidhya Padak.

Minister of Education, Science, and Technology Girirajmani Pokharel also issued a press release in which he said government had accorded a high priority to reform public education system. According to the release, admission of young children in Early Childhood Development level was 84.7 per cent, and children’s enrolment in ‘Grade I’ was 66.9 per cent. Admission rates of students in Grade I to V, Grade V to VII and Grade IX to XII were 96.9, 92.7 and 46.4 per cent, respectively