Education Minister Says Rift Between School and Higher Education Will Be Bridged

Minister for Education, Science and Technology, Sumana Shrestha, has noted a significant gap between school education and higher education, and stated that the government has begun efforts to bridge this gap.

While speaking at a meeting of the House of Representatives’ Health and Information Technology Committee, she emphasized that leadership at universities has been encouraged to develop strategies for cultivating skilled human resources, aiming to create more employment opportunities—a shared objective of both school and higher education sectors.

The Education Minister clarified that the government is taking steps to address the anomalies and aberrations at Tribhuvan University (TU).

TU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr. Keshar Jung Baral expressed that comprehensive reforms, including academic ones, would be challenging as long as political parties continue to operate their affiliate organizations within the university.

He also committed to implementing the university’s academic calendar starting next year and outlined plans to curb the trend of students going abroad for higher education.

During the meeting, lawmakers highlighted various issues at the country’s oldest university, such as over-politicization and the recurrent problem of exam question leaks. They urged the university to take measures to resolve these problems.

Also speaking at the committee meeting, Minister for Youth and Sports, Biraj Bhakta Shrestha, highlighted the insufficient budget allocated for the development of sports infrastructure and for supporting athletes.

He pointed out the specific lack of funding for transforming the cricket stadium at Tribhuvan University into an international standard facility. Additionally, Minister Shrestha mentioned the financial constraints in upgrading other major cricket stadiums and constructing new ones.

He noted that 253 athletes had been trained domestically and internationally in preparation for the 19th Asian Games and mentioned ongoing efforts to amend sports-related laws and the National Youth Policy.