KATHMANDU, Jan 5: The government will appoint undergraduate students from Tribhuvan University and Kathmandu University as interns in government offices for a specific period starting this year. Rajkumar Shrestha, Secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, informed the decision to appoint interns was taken during a recent National Development Problem Solving Committee meeting chaired by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.
Shrestha said that the Prime Minister's Office has assigned the Secretary of the
Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology to draft a law on the internship program within a month and coordinate the process. Once the draft is ready, the Cabinet will approve it, and the law will be implemented.
“The appointment system will be implemented within this year,” Shrestha stated. “The National Development Problem Solving Committee meeting directed the Education Ministry Secretary to draft the law, and the drafting process is underway.”
Shrestha also mentioned that the draft would be completed by mid-February.
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Sources at the Prime Minister’s Office say that students currently studying at Tribhuvan University and Kathmandu University will have the first opportunity to participate in the internship program. Shrestha mentioned that the law will likely ensure all students from these two universities can access internship opportunities.
In the second phase, students from other universities will also gain the opportunity for internships. Sources at the Prime Minister’s Office added that the internship period will last six months or one year, and during that time, interns will receive a fixed stipend.
Sources at the Prime Minister’s Office say that authorities are preparing the draft law to ensure that students studying at higher levels, including those in postgraduate programs, will also have the opportunity to participate in the internship program.
Prem Prasad Acharya, spokesperson for the Council of Ministers and the Prime Minister’s Office, reported that a recent secretarial-level meeting, chaired by the Chief Secretary, decided to include provisions for temporarily recruiting students from Tribhuvan University and Kathmandu University into government services as part of the internship program.
Officials at the Prime Minister’s Office believe that appointing students studying higher education to government services as part of the internship program will help curb the trend of students leaving for foreign countries immediately after passing the Grade 12 or undergraduate exams.
"Students working as interns in government offices will gain the opportunity to understand the government system, government services, and the potential to join government services," said one official. "This will inspire them to stay in the country and contribute here, rather than going abroad."
Government offices outside Kathmandu, especially in the mountainous and remote hilly districts, currently face a significant staff shortage.
Government employees often avoid leaving Kathmandu whenever possible. In fact, in some Himalayan districts, a single employee manages an entire office. High-ranking officials at the Prime Minister's Office believe that placing students in internships could greatly reduce the employee shortage.
In government offices in urban areas, including Kathmandu, especially those serving the public, such as citizenship, passport, land revenue, and surveying offices, staff numbers generally meet the required staffing levels. However, even with offices staffed according to official posts, a shortage of employees still exists, causing significant delays in service delivery.
Officials at the Prime Minister's Office believe that placing employees in internships will speed up service delivery in these offices.
"However, a problem may arise with the internship system in government services," one official said. "The issue is how much support permanent staff will provide to interns. If permanent staff do not cooperate or coordinate, the internship system will not work effectively. This is because interns will only work for a specific period of time. Permanent employees may fear that interns will notice the inefficiencies in the system, leading to a lack of cooperation."
Private sector offices, especially banks, already place students in internships. However, government offices have yet to implement an internship system.
