Kathmandu, March 21:

An education expert today flayed the government decision to make grade 12 as exit point for school level education, without prior consultation with the stakeholders concerned.

He said this at an interaction on Problems in Higher Secondary Education and the Three-year Interim Education Plan, organised by the Kathmandu district Higher Secondary Schools unit of ANNFSU.

Narayan Prasad Koirala, chief of the Planning Division at Higher Secondary Education Board (HSEB), presenting his concept paper, said implementation of the government plan to restructure school level education by making grade first to eight as primary and 9-12 as secondary from 2009 will bring about more complications in the education sector because the plan has not been widely discussed with stakeholders concerned.

“The three-year interim education plan was made by the government officials themselves without consulting with any stakeholder,” said Koirala. The proposed plan would only hamper the educational structure of the country, said Koirala. “All SAARC countries except Sri Lanka have accepted grade 10 as the Secondary School Examination (SSE) and grade 11 and 12 as Higher Secondary Education Examination. If Nepal makes grade 12 as SSE and certifies as school leaving certificate, how will the government help produce competitive youth, who can lead excel in the international market,” he said.

Thakur Gaire, president of ANNFSU, said education policies must be discussed with stakeholders concerned before endorsing them or it would create disaster.