Education up to grade 12 will be made free: Minister Basnet

Minister for Health and Population Mohan Bahadur Basnet has said that education up to Grade 12 would be made free of cost.

Inaugurating the birthing unit of Bharatpur Hospital here today, he reiterated that education and health should be free and affordable. Minister Basnet said he has been consistently involving himself in improving education and health even before becoming the minister.

‘I have been emphasizing all along that education should be free of cost up to Grade 12. The incumbent government will make arrangements for providing free education up to Class 12,’ he reiterated.

He said the State should invest more in education and health sectors, adding that the present problems in the health sector should be addressed by making amendments to the Medical Education Act.

Bagmati province government minister for health Uttam Joshi said the poor people will get health care services free of cost. He added that free health services are provided to the needy at the local, provincial and federal level hospitals.

He said although the Bharatpur Hospital is a federal-level hospital, the provincial government is providing support to it. Chief District Officer Bhupendra Thapa, Hospital Development Committee president Raju Paudel, Chief Medical Superintendent Dr. Shreeram Tiwari, Nick Simons Institute’s director Dr. Archana Amatya, Chief of the Hospital’s Gynecology Department Prof Dr. Sunil Mani Pokharel, Dr. Govinda Kandel, among the speakers, put their views.

Daily, 3- to 40 women come to the hospital for delivery service and 11,898 children were born at the hospital in the last fiscal year.