KATHMANDU, APRIL 17
The National Campaign for Education, Nepal, has suggested that political parties contesting the May 13 local level election prioritise education issues in their manifesto.
The national network of 437 member organisations working to strengthen the public education system in the country has presented an 18-point educational recommendation for political parties to consider in their manifestos.
The recommendations include at least 20 per cent of the total budget allocation in the upcoming fiscal year. The recommendation letter, according to the NCE Nepal, prepared after consulting leaders of major political parties and stakeholders, urges the local level government to allocate at least 20 per cent budget to education sector to constitutionally guarantee the right to free education.
NCE, Nepal President Dilliram Subedi shared that the recommendation had drawn the attention of the local government to the need to formulate and implement a law enabling the allocation of budget for public education from the revenue collected through local resources.
Additional budget has been demanded to encourage children who are at the risk of dropping out and to devise and enforce programmes to make up for the loss of learning activities during the COVID-19 crisis.
NEC, Nepal requires each local level government to have its own acts, regulation, plan and programmes devised for promotion of education.
Commercialisation and privatisation of basic and secondary level education should end, and profit-oriented schools should be converted to public trusts, among others. These should be included in the manifestos of political parties contesting the upcoming local polls.
In the recommendation letter, emphasis has been laid on making the teaching profession dignified and professional, making arrangements to attract qualified students towards the teaching profession, and having a provision to ensure that political parties don't allow teachers to join politics.
A version of this article appears in the print on April 18, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
