Banking News – The Ministry of Education and Sports has completed three-day orientation and workshop sessions across all seven provinces to ensure effective implementation of the annual budget and programmes, improve government-led education initiatives, and make the proposed School Education Act more practical, timely and student-centred.

The workshops focused on developing necessary procedures for education reform programmes, reviewing budget expenditure and discussing ways to improve educational quality. The sessions have already been completed in Sudurpashchim, Karnali and Lumbini provinces, while the workshop in Madhesh Province concluded on Wednesday. Shailendra Jha, chief adviser to the Minister for Education and Sports, attended the programme.

The three-day workshops brought together senior officials from the federal Ministry of Education and Sports, representatives of the Department of Education, district coordination committees, Education Development and Coordination Units, and education chiefs from local governments across the provinces.

Speaking at the programme, Jha emphasized the important role of education section chiefs in implementing government policies and programmes effectively. He stressed the need for strong coordination and cooperation among federal, provincial and local governments to improve educational quality.

Jha said the workshops reviewed lessons learned, strengths, challenges and weaknesses in last year’s budget implementation, while also discussing ways to ensure more efficient execution of future programmes.

Federal Member of Parliament Sarita Mahato highlighted the need to work on resource and research development for inclusive education and people with intellectual disabilities across all seven provinces. She also stressed that cooperation among all three levels of government is essential for successful implementation of education programmes.

The ministry currently allocates nearly 70 percent of the total budget directly to local governments. To address the problem of repeated construction of school buildings in some locations while other areas face shortages, the ministry has begun a nationwide infrastructure assessment.

Under the proposed approach, future budget allocations will be based on student numbers, birth rates, geographical clusters and the need to ensure quality education. The ministry also plans to bring children with intellectual disabilities into mainstream education and make provincial governments more accountable for teacher training.

The current government has also taken seriously concerns that previous federal leadership did not fully recognize the role of provincial structures under the federal system. While around 28 percent of the total budget goes to higher education under the federal government, 70 percent to local governments and only 2 percent to provincial governments, preparations are underway to increase the provincial share in future budgets.

Jha clarified that legislation is being prepared to transfer the ownership and leadership of the Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT) fully to provincial governments, in line with the constitutional division of responsibilities. Under this framework, school education falls under local governments, higher education under the federal government, and technical and vocational education under provincial governments.

The ministry is also preparing the 11th amendment to the Education Regulations to address policy and legal challenges in the education sector. A key priority is to introduce provisions aimed at preventing political activities within schools.

The ministry said it is incorporating stakeholder suggestions into the proposed School Education Act to make the legislation more practical. Education chiefs participating in the workshop, led by Department of Education Director Neelkantha Upreti, expressed their commitment to implementing plans to improve educational quality.

The workshop concluded with an emphasis on effective budget utilization, coordination among all three levels of government, and resolving policy-related challenges to strengthen education programme implementation.