Education Minister calls for depoliticising education sector

Bhaktapur, Nov 22:Minister for Education Dhaniram Poudel has called for depoliticising the education sector.

Addressing the 23rd anniversary celebrations of the University Grant Commission (UGC) in Sanothimi, Bhaktapur today, the Education Minister said political interference in the academic field has remained a major hurdle for its development and such interference must be prevented.

A total of 96 academic programmes of foreign universities are in the operation in the country, he said, adding that the UGC should start the monitoring of such programmes and take efforts to run them systematically.

The Higher Education Bill has got stuck in the Council of Ministers, he said, emphasizing its passage as soon as possible.

Commenting over the UGC activities, the Education Minister said it has failed to meet its targets expect distributing the grants.

Tribhuvan University Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Tirtha Khaniya said a delay in passing the Higher Education Bill has negatively affected the education sector. The foreign universities' programmes in Nepal are just for certificates not for promoting quality education, he claimed.

UGC Board Chairperson Prof Dr Parasar Prasad Koirala demanded that the haphazard approval to run the foreign universities' programmes at home be stopped.

On the occasion, UGC member-secretary Prof Dr Devraj Adhikari unveiled the Commission annual progress report.