Newly appointed Education Secretary Surya Man Shrestha today underscored the need to strengthen the monitoring mechanism in the education sector. Stating that the monitoring mechanism was not effective, he said it was time to wisely utilise government funds to provide quality education to students. 

 

“Despite allocation of 17 per cent of the total national budget to the education sector, various government programmes have had little impact to the grassroots level,” Shrestha told this daily today.

 

According to the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), Ministry of Education (MoE) tops the list in misuse of government funds, he said. Earlier, CIAA had called secretaries from various ministries to talk about misuse of authority by various organisations and people.

 

The Department of Education and other government bodies under MoE spend thousands of rupees every year in the name of monitoring the education sector. 

 

Government monitoring lacks accuracy, credibility and fairness, it is only a waste of time and money, Educationists maintained. “Monitoring has merely been a show of strength among government employees for their personal benefits,” they further claimed. 

 

Donors were also of the same view with regard to the education ministry. They said the programmes funded by development partners were not effectively implemented due to politicisation, corruption and weak monitoring system.

 

They have been alerting the MoE regarding effective implementation of educational programmes time and again and even warned they will withdraw their support. 

 

A few years ago, former education minister Ram Chandra Kushbaha,who was accused of misusing the fund for Per Child Funding quotas, was asked to resign from his post. Development partners had also warned the ministry that they would stop financial and technical support. 

 

The Eight Amendment Bill to the Education Act has been sent to the Cabinet for approval, Shrestha further said.

 

(Source: The HImalayantimes)