The government´s plan to make primary education compulsory in 13 districts this fiscal year is unlikely to take shape for lack of an appropriate law.

Though the Ministry of Finance has allocated funds under a separate budgetary head for making education at primary level compulsory, uncertainty looms over the plan given the dim possibility of a draft amendment to the Education Act 1971 being endorsed by President Ram Baran Yadav, following the dissolution of parliament in May last year.

Speaking at a function organized by the Education Journalists´ Network on Saturday, Minister for Education Madhav Poudel said that the government cannot make it mandatory for citizens to send their children to school unless this is backed by law.

Under the first phase of making primary education compulsorily, the Department of Education (DoE) had targetted the 10 districts of Dhankuta, Saptari, Bhaktapur, Parsa, Kaski, Rupandehi, Surkhet, Bardiya, Kanchanpur and Dadeldhura. The office was also working on the three remaining target districts.

The government´s School Sector Reform Program aims at improving school education up to grade 12 and ensuring free education for all from pre-primary to plus-two level. This program has also been in limbo in the absence of parliament.

The Ministry of Education (MoE) needs to present its case forcefully to the interim government and the President´s Office to get the necessary law endorsed in the form of an ordinance, said educationist Mana Prasad Wagle.“The state cannot hold the education sector captive by blocking the amendment process,” he added.

Student enrollment rate at the primary level is above 95 percent in all the target districts whereas the national enrollment rate stands at 96.1 percent.

source: republica,28 Sep 2013