The taskforce, formed by the HSEB last Friday, will scrutinize fee structures, allocation of scholarships to needy students, investments in extravagant advertisements and dress codes at privately run plus two schools. [break]
A meeting of the taskforce held on Wednesday decided to start the monitoring from Sunday. The taskforce has also formed two groups, one led by the HSEB spokesperson Narayan Koirala and the other headed by Ram Raj Khakurel, Under Secretary at Department of Education, to complete the monitoring at the earliest.
The taskforce was previously scheduled to begin the monitoring from Thursday this week. But, the decision to postpone the monitoring for Sunday was taken citing inadequate time for plus two schools to furnish the details about scholarships distribution.
In its first meeting last week, the taskforce had directed all plus two schools to submit reports containing names and backgrounds of all the students who were granted scholarships that are meant for needy students. “We want to see whether or not those genuinely in need have been given the scholarships,” Suprabhat Bhandari, one of the members of the taskforce, told Republica.
The taskforce was set up amidst allegations that plus two schools that were using extravagant advertisements to lure students, would eventually burden guardians with expensive fees. Apart from investment in advertisements, the taskforce will also scrutinize fee structures and dress codes adopted by various private plus two schools.
The taskforce will randomly select 20 plus two schools from across the valley especially the ones who have spent lavishly on advertisements. The monitoring teams will examine private plus two schools in Lalitpur, Bhaktapur and Kathmandu.
“Once we are done with monitoring, we can recommend standard fee structures, acceptable dress code and limits on advertisement spending,” says Bhandari. “The findings of the monitoring will play a key role in preparing policies regarding all these issues.”
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