KATHMANDU: Many people talk about the Education Act and complain that the new Act has not been promulgated for more than five years now.

They speak about the Federal Education Act as if it has obstructed a lot in the educational development of the country.

But has the delay affected the performance in schools, colleges, or universities? What has the delay affected? Has it hampered educational development?

Has teacher appointment or promotion been stopped? Has it stopped educational development? Why do you need a law?

It is wrong to say that everything is ruined because of this.

The Constitution has clearly mentioned what powers will be given to the federal, provincial and local governments in the case of education. The right to conduct programs relating to education up to the 12th standard has been given to the local level.

The local level has got the right to approve the school permit. After winning the election, the people’s representatives have got the right to upgrade the schools, add classes and improve the quality there.

Sometimes it seems as if this policy would not have come. Why give money to a student if he is poor? Better provide necessary clothing or food rather than giving money?

Unfortunately, many of them have not borne the responsibility. After the classes are added, there should be more teachers.

If you ask for a subject teacher, how many can be given? They want to merge schools, and make them bigger, but none bothers about making them smaller and better. The schools are there, but getting an efficient teacher is not easy.

The current law may have prevented some things. However, to fulfill the vacancy, the retired teachers have also gone and taken salary allowances. The Education Act has hampered nothing.

Why claim what is not a right? So let’s look at it in a positive way. The Act shall be introduced; however, the fact is that no regular activities are affected by its absence.

Our Education Act provisions that the Chair of the School Management Committee has to be chosen from the guardian of the children studying in that school, and the local acts have provisioned that the ward chairman of the respective levels will be the chairman of the committee.

So don’t think like that. The Federal Education Act states that the local level can form a management committee of up to 9 people by amending legal provisions.

We have made a draft of the Act which is better. It is in the final stage. Since there is an Act to invest in many education institutions, the Ministry of Finance or the Government of Nepal should be able to do it by giving more money in the days ahead.

This act comes soon. It has reached the Ministry of Law after receiving approval from the Ministry of Finance.

It is said that this federal government does not seek to give authority in the federal structure.

How did the federal government not try to give rights? I myself was in the federal office, I don’t know what shrunk the rights of the province and local levels.

We have said that the government will send the money for the conditional grant. That’s all we said. All the money that came from other governments has gone to education.

Now comes the matter of sanitary pads. We have sent the pads in the name of each student after looking at the number of students.

If we do not pay enough attention on time, education might turn out to be the cause of the nation’s collapse. Giving no votes has short-term implications; deterioration of the education sector shall lead to the collapse of the nation.

We said to give scholarships to all Dalit community students. We are trying to give rights. We have given all rights. If we don’t give it, where will the local level give it from? The government has considered pretty well about this.

Another issue, has class 10 increased to 11 and 12 or the college level has decreased? But actually, the college has dropped the lower level. We are trying to improve gradually.

We have planned to give an identity card (ID) to a child who goes to school which will be valid or used till the student joins university; if he changes school, he will get a new ID number.

It will keep track of whether the student has changed school or turned out to be a dropout. So now, when you enroll in class 1, you will use the same ID until later and carry it with you wherever you go, like citizenship. So let’s develop the technology that this child has reached here and read this subject.

Sometimes it seems as if this policy would not have come. Why give money to a student if he is poor? Isn’t it better to provide necessary clothing or food rather than giving money?

Why should the richest get a scholarship even if they are Dalits? Such issues should be addressed.
In fact, if we do not pay attention to such issues, this will invite unfortunate circumstances in the future.

If we do not pay enough attention on time, education might turn out to be the cause of the nation’s collapse. Giving no votes has short-term implications; deterioration of the education sector shall lead to the collapse of the nation.

(Based on Luitel’s speech at a program in Pavilion Hall, Durbarmarga)