Government Must Increase Budget for Free and Quality School Education: Minister Sumana Shrestha

Education, Science, and Technology Minister Sumana Shrestha stated that the government needs to increase the budget to make school education free and of high quality. Responding to questions raised during today's National Assembly meeting on the 'Appropriation Bill, 2081,' Minister Shrestha emphasized the necessity of budget allocation as a mandatory obligation to follow education laws, regulations, and directives.

She stressed the need to think about how to allocate additional budget for education, highlighting the importance of studies and research from the Educational Quality Testing Center to draw conclusions for quality education. Minister Shrestha clarified that the 'Teacher Transfer Directive 2081' has been issued to ensure quality education and keep it free from political interference.

"Teaching is not just a job; it is a responsibility. Teachers must always be focused on student learning," Minister Shrestha said. "Therefore, teachers should not hold responsibilities or memberships in any political party. I expect the cooperation of all political parties in this regard."

Minister Shrestha mentioned the creation of a teacher 'portal' to prepare integrated data and make transfers scientific. She also informed about the 'Learning with Friends' program and the plan to train and deploy a thousand students to every municipality.

Additionally, Minister Shrestha clarified that due to past inaction, monitoring of the registration, renewal, and supervision of educational consultancy centers and colleges operating under foreign affiliations has now begun. She also informed that the process has started for the restructuring of the Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training to create a situation where students can 'earn while they learn' and receive educational certificates, which does not require an additional budget.