Citing unhealthy competition in the education sector and fabricated information in the advertisements of schools and Plus Two colleges, Higher Secondary Education Board — an autonomous government body to regulate higher secondary education — has enforced a Code of Conduct that puts a ceiling on the amount schools and Plus Two colleges can spend on advertisements.

Plus Two colleges in Kathmandu metropolis can spend up to Rs 5 lakhs annually on ads, those in sub-metropolis Rs 3 lakhs, the ones in municipalities Rs 1 lakh and those in VDCs can spend only Rs 50,000 a year on ads.

There is a provision of penalty for those schools and colleges who defy the advertisement ceiling. If their advertisement expenditure exceeds up to 10 per cent of the ceiling, HSEB, Department of Education or District Education Office will slap a fine of Rs 50,000; if it exceeds up to 20 per cent, they will be fined Rs 1 lakh; if it exceeds up to 50 per cent, a fine of Rs 2.5 lakhs will be imposed on them; if the expenditure exceeds more then 50 per cent of the ceiling, the authorities will slap a fine of Rs 5 lakhs.

HSEB can scrap the registration of schools and Plus Two colleges that repeatedly violate the Code of Conduct.

CoC also bars Plus Two colleges from using the name or photos of celebrities in their brochures and advertisements. CoC prohibits them from using the names or photos of President, Vice-president, prime minister, ministers, secretaries of Nepal government, high-ranking officials or former prime ministers, former ministers, former ambassadors or former high ranking officials. It also bars them from using the names or photos of toppers.

First-time violators of this provision will be fined Rs 50,000 with a warning; second-time offenders will be slapped a fine of Rs 1 lakh and reprimanded; third-time offenders will be fined Rs 2 lakhs and the institute’s registration will be cancelled.

source: the himalayan timews, 18 June 2013