Kathmandu: At a time when the government is planning to merge Grade XI and XII into school education, the fifth national Convention of Higher Secondary Schools’ Association Nepal (HISSAN) demanded conducive environment to let plus two colleges operate for at least a decade without obstruction.

Publicising a 47- point declaration at a press conference here today, Umesh Shrestha, president, HISSAN said that long-term projects such as School Sector Reform Plan that seeks to merge plus two in school education should be postponed until the constitution is promulgated and the government is clear about the structure of education and its modality of operation.

The convention also demanded that the government scrap the one per cent Education Service Tax imposed by Prime Minister Babu Ram Bhattarai when he was finance minister in 2008.

The national convention, held on January 14 and 15 in Kathmandu, also elected a 47-member central committee unopposed under the chairmanship of Umesh Shrestha.

Ram Pokharel is the senior vice chair person; Yuba Raj Sharma is the general secretary, Madhab Prasad Baral, Ramesh Silwal, Shiva Datta Gyawali, Bikram Rai and Bijaya Datta are the vice chairpersons for the central development region.

Likewise, Bhesh Raj Pokharel, Ram Chandra Acharya, Shesmani Gautam, Shivar Hari Mudvari and Devendra Dhakal are the vice chairpersons for eastern, western, mid-western, far-western and mid-western development regions respectively.

The convention also demanded a model Higher Secondary School in each district for poor and hardworking students, granting of permanent affiliation to all higher secondary schools that have temporary affiliation, formation of a high-level board of educationists to manage the Higher Secondary Education Board smoothly and decently.

Guarantee of security for private sector investment in education in the constitution, academic calendar for plus two level, management of re-checking and re-totaling of answer sheets within 15 days were the other demands of the convention.

source: The Himalayan Times, 16 Jan 2012