Kathmandu, August 17:

A former secretary at the Ministry of Education and Sports said today that political interference has hit the education sector hard. Comparing the present education scenario with that a few decades back, Khem Raj Regmi said: “Quality education is still inaccessible.” Speaking at an interaction organised by the Education Journalists’ Group, he said politicians were to blame for the poor quality of education.

Regmi pointed the need to make the education employment-oriented. “As 95 per cent of the allocated budget is used for paying the teachers’ salaries, little amount is left for development of the education sector,” he said, adding that political instability and conciliatory laws and polices should be addressed.