Lawmakers demand fully free school education under new bill

Lawmakers from various parties have demanded that school education be made completely free.

They made the remarks at a discussion on the School Education Bill organised by the National Campaign for Education Nepal in Kathmandu on Sunday, saying the constitutional provisions on education must be fully implemented. The government is currently drafting the School Education Bill.

Rastriya Swatantra Party lawmaker Kusum Maharjan said education reform is everyone's shared responsibility and called for deep dialogue on the issues that must be included in the bill.

Nepali Congress lawmaker Dr Pramila Kumari Gachhadar demanded that at least 20 percent of the total budget be allocated to education.

CPN-UML lawmaker Guru Prasad Baral stressed that the bill must be practically implementable. Fellow UML lawmaker Sajida Khatun Siddiqui said outside influence must not affect the drafting of the bill.

Bagmati Provincial Assembly member Hariprabha Khadgi said the confusion over the division of authority among the three tiers of government must be removed.

Former National Natural Resource and Fiscal Commission chairperson Balanand Paudel said the act must be brought in a way that fulfils the government's commitments on free and compulsory education.

Education and Sports Ministry Joint Secretary Shiva Kumar Sapkota said preparations are under way to bring a bill acceptable to everyone.

According to campaign chairperson Labaraj Oli, public schools still lack drinking water, toilets and disability-friendly infrastructure.