Banking News – European Union (EU) Ambassador to Nepal Veronico Lorenzo paid a courtesy call on Education and Sports Minister Sasmita Pokharel at the Ministry of Education in Singha Durbar on Monday.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed Nepal-EU relations, ongoing cooperation in the education sector and potential areas for expanding collaboration in the coming days.

Minister Pokharel informed Ambassador Lorenzo that the ministry is advancing various policy and structural reforms aimed at improving school education. She said the Education Act and Technical and Vocational Education Act are being advanced as key policy instruments for the sector, while necessary reforms will also be incorporated.

Minister Pokharel also said work is underway to revise the National Curriculum Framework. She highlighted the ministry’s efforts to improve governance in technical and vocational education, resolve existing ambiguities regarding executive roles, strengthen teachers’ professional development and expand digital education.

The minister said Nepal is ready to collaborate with the EU, where appropriate, on the education-sector reforms being undertaken by the ministry. She also informed the ambassador that the ministry has prioritized providing early childhood development (ECD) teachers with training on early autism identification and screening, expressing confidence that cooperation with the EU in this area would continue in the future.

During the meeting, Ambassador Lorenzo said cooperation with Nepal’s education sector remains an important priority for the EU and expressed the EU’s commitment to continuing its support.

Ambassador Lorenzo also informed Minister Pokharel that the EU is working on a framework required to support education-sector reforms in Nepal from 2028 to 2034.

She said the EU is prepared to further cooperate with Nepal in areas including school education, technical and vocational education, digital education and teachers’ professional development.