Educationist Dr Tirtha Khaniya today accused major political parties of ignoring education sector in their respective election manifestos for the Constituent Assembly election.
"Education is limited to rhetoric; it is not on the political parties’ agenda," Khaniya said at an interaction, adding that no party has included any specific plan for the education sector in its manifesto.
He also flayed the government for its failure to implement its declaration to provide primary education free of cost.
“Manifestos of all the parties are ‘abstract’ in nature, they do not project any clear policy on education,” said Bishnu Adhikari, vice-president of the Nepal Teachers’ Association. Lal Bahadur BC, vice-president of the All Nepal Teachers’ Organization (ANTO), stressed on the need for scientific and people-oriented education. He said his organization was against the privatisation and commercialisation of education.
Nilendra Kunwar of the Nepal Educational Republic Forum said the political parties couldn’t be trusted as the commitments they have made in their manifestos are just to lure the voters.
PABSON chairman Bhoj Bahadur Shah said the state alone cannot handle the education sector and the private sector should be encouraged in the federal system.
At the interaction organised by the Education Journalists’ Group, Chaitanya Sharma, secretary of education department of the CPN-UML, said the education policy in a new Nepal should be able to produce globally competitive human resource. Nabin Silpakar of the Nepali Congress said the primary-level education should be given in mother tongues.