Commission had submitted the report two years ago, but govt refused to make public the recommendations  

KATHMANDU, Dec 7: The government hid the report prepared by the High-Level National Education Commission at the behest of private schools, according to senior officials at the Ministry of Education.

Although the Commission led by Education Minister Giriraj Mani Pokharel prepared the report recommending government to bring changes in education policy, the Education Ministry refused to make the report public as education mafias have pressurized the government not to bring changes in the current policy.

In the report, the Commission has made several recommendations to the government to bring reforms in the education sector. The Commission has recommended the government that private schools should be operated under a trust. “The recommendation will end commercialization of private schools. So, private schools have always lobbied politicians to hide the report,” an official at the Commission, told Republica.

As per the recommendation, private schools should be converted from company to trust within the next 10 years.

Although the government was refusing to make the report public, the Commission on Friday publicized the 502-page long report amid a function organized at Durbar High School in Kathmandu.

The Commission comprises education experts, government officials, teachers, former education ministers, among other education stakeholders.

During the program, Shyam Kumar Shrestha, a member of the Commission, said that the government refused to make the report public despite several requests from the Commission. “The government was not interested in making the report public, and so we had no other option,” said Shrestha.

The Commission had submitted the report to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli almost two years ago.

“Even though the ministry and the prime minister were requested by education stakeholders, the report was hidden for two years. This shows the government’s real face. This incident proves the government is guided by education mafias, and the report was kept secret at the behest of private schools,” Milan Pandey, an educational expert, told Republica over the phone.

“Other than the interest of private schools, politicians, too, do not want the recommendations to be implemented. As the Commission has recommended that there should not be political appointments in universities, politicians fear that their cadres do not get quota. Such interests are ruining the education system of the country,” said a high-ranking official at the Education Ministry.

Major recommendations of the Commission

·        Govt should allocate 22 percent of total annual budget for education

·        Private schools should be operated under trust within next 10 years

·        No political appointments in universities

·        All the local units should have residential technical schools

·        Schools should not have international affiliation other than for diplomatic purpose

·        Prime Minister and Education Minister should not assume the roles of chancellor and vice-chancellor in universities   

 
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