Education Minister seeks more budget for education sector

KATHMANDU: Minister for Education, Science and Technology Devendra Paudel urged the Ministry of Finance to increase budget in the education sector. At a discussion organised here Sunday, Minister Paudel urged the Ministry of Finance to be generous towards budget allocation in the education sector. The Education Minister also shared that preparation was ongoing to operate medical colleges in all seven provinces and demanded adequate budget for the same. According to him, new programmes were proposed as establishment of IT and science labs in all public schools, development of physical infrastructures in 5,000 schools, facilitation of teaching-learning activities for students and teachers, additional quotas for teachers of English, mathematics and science subjects, and extension of mid-day snacks to students up to Grade 8, among others. The Minister also demanded additional budget for building UNESCO villages, scholarships for medical students and conducting feasibility study for setting up a multidisciplinary research centre, among others. In response, Minister for Finance Janardan Sharma pledged to consider Minister Paudel's request and indicated towards possibility of increase in budget for education sector in the fiscal year 2022/23. He also suggested Minister Paudel mull new plans and programmes in the areas of digital libraries, IT colleges, and schools, medical and IT universities among others. In the discussion held at the Finance Ministry, Minister Sharma urged the Ministry of Health and Population to propose a budget, and policies and programmes to alleviate poverty and prevent diseases. He suggested hospitals equipped with laboratories, and providing specialised services should be built in rural municipalities and municipalities. Health Minister Birodh Khatiwada suggested appointing doctors to the hospitals built with 500 to 1,500 beds and arranging for health equipment. On the occasion, Nepal Planning Commission Vice-Chairman Biswo Nath Poudel suggested establishing medical tourism in the country. He suggested making provisions so that one would go abroad for medical treatment only when it is not possible to get treatment in Nepal. Poudel also opined that the provincial hospitals should be developed as referral centres. By RSS READ ALSO:

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