KATHMANDU, July 3: The government has increased the amount of scholarship provided every year by the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration (MoFAGA) for the children of civil servants for their higher studies. The state has spent over one billion rupees for this purpose so far.
In the fiscal year, 2021/22, an amount of Rs 140 million was allocated for providing educational incentives for the children of civil servants. The amount spent under this heading has been increasing every year. The government has allocated Rs 220 million to provide scholarships for the children of civil servants in the upcoming year 2024/25.
According to MoFAGA, the government has spent an amount of Rs 213.1 million to provide scholarships for the children of civil servants. In the current fiscal year, the government has provided scholarships to 754 children of civil servants to study higher studies. The government has provided scholarships worth Rs 100,000 to Rs 500,000. A work procedure has been made for this purpose.
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In 2021, Directives for Granting Educational Benefits to Civil Servants' Children, 2021 was formulated in order to grant educational incentives to civil servants' children. In the fiscal year 2022/23, Rs 166.4 million was spent to grant educational incentives to civil servants’ children.
Similarly, the government spent Rs 604.1 million for this program in the fiscal year 2022/23. From the year 2010/11, scholarships were provided with the aim of encouraging the children of civil servants for higher studies. This program was operated till the fiscal year 2017/2018, after which it stopped. Later in 2021, the then Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s government decided to resume this program following the demand of civil servants for the relaunch of the program.
All Nepal Trade Union Federation had repeatedly submitted memorandums to the government to restart the scheme of granting scholarships to the children of civil servants.
According to the MoFAGA, so far, around 5,000 children of civil servants have received scholarships for higher studies in various subjects. It is mentioned in the procedure that a committee will be formed to take necessary actions and decisions to provide scholarships for the children of the government employees under the coordination of the incumbent Secretary of MoFAGA.
A question has been raised in the 61st Annual Report of the Auditor General about the results of the state awarding scholarships to civil servants' children. Similarly, the attention of the government has been drawn to this matter.
Clause 23 of the Directives mentions that, if the government deems it necessary, there is a provision that students who have been provided with a scholarship can be employed anywhere within one year.
The Auditor General has drawn the attention of the government to monitor whether the clause has been implemented or not as well as to employ students who have achieved academic qualifications.
