Kathmandu - For the lack of a Federal Education Act, there has been a continued to complain that Local Governments are not able to exercise the right to school education granted by the Constitution. However, Gorkhapatra has published news of the Municipalities making exemplary progress in improving public schools.

The news stated that Nilkantha Municipality in Dhading, that managed to secure the first place in the Local Level Institutional Capacity Self-Assessment (LISA) in the last fiscal year 2080/81, allocated a 40 percent of its annual budget for education. There, education is (truly – ed.) free up to grade 12 in Community Schools, and even the fees for students studying in technical streams are paid for by the Municipality. It has provided some 70 teachers in the public schools in the Municipality through grants, has made a 35-point contract with teachers to improve school education, The news also mentions issuing additional remuneration being given to teachers who were teaching in higher grades despite holding lower-level positions. 

Similarly, Benighat Rorang Rural Municipality in Dhading, that managed to secure the third place in the LISA, is also conducting a door-to-door program for parents through neighborhood-based parent education and door-to-door review programs to improve school education. This programconducted with the belief that education can only be improved when parents are aware, has been effective.

Ilam Municipality of Ilam which ranked sixth in the LISA, has run its own college affiliated with Purbanchal University, to offer undergraduate agricultural programs, quoted the news. Arjun Chaupari Rural Municipality of Syangja, which managed to rank among the top 10 in the above said Self-evaluation, has also prioritized culturally-based education which implemented in all schools in the Municipality. Recent efforts of the Municipality (like reported above – Ed.) have improved the quality of public schools and increased students’ attraction, the news stated. Every year, six students are getting full scholarships to study in the college. In addition, the Municipality is providing full scholarships to permanent residents of the Municipality who have passed SEE from public schools to get technical education, mentioned the news. 

As the country transitioned to the federal structure, the Constitution has placed the management of education up to the secondary level under the jurisdiction of local governments i.e. Municipalities. The essence of federalism is the Principal of Subsidiaries is that regulation of public affairs from the nearest government is more effective than from a distant one. However, ever since this provision of the Constitution  is being implemented, there has been strong opposition not only from teachers but also from the employees of the Ministry of Education and subordinate bodies. The Nepal Teachers Federation, formed by party-affiliated teacher organizations, has continued demanding to keep the affair of teachers under the purview of Federal Government even if schools are kept under the Municipalities in the pretext that local leaders are driven by political parties and subject to biases against the teachers. In fact, the teachers are as partisan driven as the leaders.  

There were/are In addition to those mentioned in the news, the good practices of many local governments have resulted in significant improvements in the quality of school education. This is a good response to those who argued that education would be destroyed if the school education is kept under the jurisdiction of local governments.  It would not be an exaggeration to say that this improvement by the Municipalities has  taken place despite the lack of cooperation from the employees and the community of teachers. This is also an appropriate response to those who seek to include provisions in the School Education Bill that are contrary to the spirit of the Constitution. The efforts being made by these local governments in school reforms require cooperation from the stakeholders. The current Interim Government can take this into account and facilitate the way forward. Even if a minister makes just speeches in favor if he cannot do anything else, it can make a difference.

There was news that with the dissolution of the House of Representatives (HoR), after the Gen-Z Revolt (GZR), the School Education Bill passed by the Education Health and Information Technology Committee of HoR also becomes inactive. Although the Bill, that the Ministry of Education Science and Technology registered in the Parliament on 13 September 2023, was in the process of promulgation. After the new Parliament is formed, the new government will have to register the bill in the Parliament again. (The new Parliament could own the Bill but its so tattered by accommodating the demands of vested interest groups that it is worth starting the drafting process all over again. Ed)

Tribhuvan University (TU) is preparing to hold the exams suspended due to the GZR after Dashain and Tihar. Although the exams scheduled for 9, 10 and 11 September were postponed to 18, 19, and 21 but the situation has become more uncertain, the exams have been postponed. The exam will be held after Dashain and Tihar, the news quoted.

Schools that were closed due to the difficult situation caused by GZR have reopened last week. Similarly, the private schools are planning to run classes between Dashain and Tihar as classes could not be continued for a week due to the protests, the news mentioned. Since the elections are scheduled for the first week of March 2026, schools will also be closed at that time, so there is a plan to complete the course beforehand.

Chandan Nath Secondary School in Jumla has barred 95 percent of its English-medium students from participating in the half-yearly exams after they failed to pay fees. Around 600 students are studying in the English medium from grades 6 to 10. Except for about five percent of them, others were not included in the exam due to non-payment of fees, Gorakhapatra published. There need to be strict to collect fees to pay salaries to teachers hired from private sources, the news quoted the Head Teacher. Students who went to take exams have been sent home by the school for not paying fees.

This year's National? Education Day ended without any events in the aftermath of the Gen-Z Revolt. Smoke had filled the Ministry rooms due to a fire of of the parked vehicles around the Ministry building in Singha Durbar and the rooms  vandalized. For that reason, Education Day, which is celebrated every year on the 8th of Nepali month of Ashoj, has not been celebrated this time. Although the the Ministry of Education had planned a program to present medals and certificates at the national level, the program had been postponed, according to the news quoting the Ministry’s Secretary Chuda Mani Poudel. The Ministry has issued a notice that services will be provided from Keshar Mahal until the maintenance and cleaning of the building in the Singha Dabar complex is completed. The Ministry has stated that the services provided by the Foreign Study Permits Branch, Educational Counseling and Certification Branch, and Scholarship Branch located in Sano Thimi will continue as usual from the same location.

The Ministry has instructed teachers and staff not to create and post contents on social media in the school hours and with teachers’ uniform on after receiving a complaint on ‘Hello! Government’, a phone- complaint system of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, from the public against School teachers and staff about creating and posting content on TikTok, Reels,  stating that it has a direct impact on child psychology, there was the news. 

The Ministry has also stated that Non-objection Certificates (NOCs) have been issued even on public holidays, including during the Gen-Z Rebellion. NOC was issued at the request of the students as it is essential for students going abroad for studies, the news stated.

An article by Gobinda Karki has been published in the Gorkhapatra Daily suggesting that if we are to produce human resources that address national needs and international demands, the curriculum of future higher education should be technological that combines technology and entrepreneurship. 

Purpose of this news review is to classify and synthesize the educational content of the week and provide objective comments from the point of view of social justice and creative pedagogy including the environment. It is aimed to the policy makers and stakeholders to help make informed decisions. In this joint effort of the Center for Educational Policies and Practices (CEPP) and EduKhabar, material from daily newspapers - Kantipur, Gorkhapatra and The Himalayan Times, online news portals - Online Khabar, Setopati and Ratopati and the 8 o'clock news of Nepal Television and 7 o'clock news of Himalaya Television is summarized and presented with commentary on relevant issues. We have covered the contents from 13-19 September 2025 in this issue and this often is the translated version of Nepali edition - The Editor.

Read this analysis in Nepali : स्थानीयले विद्यालय उकास्न सक्छन् 

Read last week's content : Last week in Educationn