Education minister urges quality over new universities at Hetauda conference
Education Minister Sasmit Pokharel opened a two-day conference of provincial education ministers and universities in Hetauda, saying new universities should open only where need and investment are justified.
Provincial education ministers, university officials and education experts have gathered in Hetauda, the capital of Bagmati Province, for a two-day conference on strengthening Nepal's higher education system and the management of provincial universities. The event, organised by Bagmati University, began on Thursday, October 29, and is scheduled to end on Friday, October 30.
Federal Minister for Education and Sports Sasmit Pokharel inaugurated the conference. According to Onlinekhabar and Nagarik, participants include ministers from various provinces, vice-chancellors, chancellors and registrars of universities, provincial government secretaries, a member of the National Planning Commission, the chair of the University Grants Commission and education experts.
Focus on quality over quantity
Pokharel cautioned against opening new universities without justification. As reported by Gorkhapatra, he said a new university should be established only after student demand, market need and the case for state investment have been demonstrated, and that making existing universities effective and of good quality matters more than adding to their number.
According to Nagarik, the minister said the government is pushing ahead with a mapping of universities and an assessment of schools' physical infrastructure, and plans to stop duplicate state investment by funding according to need. He said universities should be founded on geographic need and local realities, with clear objectives and academic programmes rather than duplicated ones.
Coordination and policy reform
Pokharel said a mechanism has been set up to improve coordination between universities run by the federal government and those run by the provinces, and that all of them would be treated as equally important, Nagarik reported.
He also said work is under way on a School Education Act and on amending the education regulations, and that suggestions from the conference would be taken into upcoming laws and policies. Sessions are covering the development of education in the provinces, federal-provincial coordination and the management of provincial universities, with provinces sharing their practices, achievements and challenges.