Private schools have recently complied with the repeated requests from the Kathmandu Metropolitan City by submitting the information regarding the scholarships they have awarded.
Just a week ago, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) issued instructions to all schools, demanding compliance with scholarship regulations and the provision of detailed information. However, despite several days passing since the issuance of these instructions, the private schools failed to provide the required details. Consequently, the KMC issued a warning, threatening to publicize the school's name and potentially close it down.
Sitaram Koirala, the head of the KMC Education Department, stated, "Following the announcement of the names, the schools have now provided the scholarship details." He further mentioned that 457 schools have already submitted the required information, while the remaining schools have assured that they will bring them promptly.
Chief Koilala stated, "A majority of the received scholarship details include the names of the students and the specific group they have been awarded to."
In accordance with the regulations, each school is required to provide scholarships to 10% of their total student population. In cases where KMC has doubts regarding the provided details, they have expressed their intention to conduct additional monitoring. KMC has reiterated that scholarships have been allocated to 90% of the schools following repeated requests.
Koirala, the Head of the Education Department at KMC, issued a warning stating that failure to submit the scholarship distribution details for 10% of students by Jestha 28th, the end of the current academic session, would result in the school's affiliation being revoked and the school being closed. The submission of scholarship distribution information must adhere to the regulations outlined in Rules 58 and 59 of the KMC School Education Management Regulations of 2074 and Section 50 of the KMC Education Act of 2075.
Among the enrolled students, if the provision of providing scholarships to 10 percent of them is not followed, the KMC had announced that it would take action by publicly releasing the names of the schools that failed to submit the details. Most expensive schools remained in operation as they did not provide scholarships for the academic year 2080. The schools listed by KMC included Pathshala, Sainik Academy, Meridian, Pranjali World School, Alka Puri, Alok Vidhyashram, Nepal Police School, Adarsha Vidya Sadan, Manjushree, Himalayan White House, Babylon, and Kathmandu Pragya Kunja.
In addition, schools such as Greenwich, Vidya Sadan, Bagmati, Little Buddha, Kathmandu Gurukul, Campion, British Gurkha, Sanskar, Rising, Divya Gyan, Gillette, Geetanjali, Kamalnetra Chunamuna, Grammar, Samata, Nishta, Kasthamandap, KIST, Paragon Public, Kathmandu Model School, and others have also submitted the scholarship details in response to the public notice issued by KMC.
On the 24th of Baisakh, KMC issued a circular stating that scholarship details should be provided to KMC by the 15th of Jestha. Failure to submit these details by schools in KMC can result in the cancellation of the permission or approval granted to the school, as stated in subsection 4 of Section 56 of the KMC Education Act, 2075. Additionally, actions can be taken in accordance with the provisions of the Act or other applicable laws.
Starting from the upcoming academic session, KMC will enforce a policy whereby respective schools must provide scholarships to five percent of their total student population, while the remaining five percent of scholarships should be deposited into the KMC education fund. Koirala mentioned that each school will have a designated quota for granting scholarships, and to facilitate this, applications will be invited from students. KMC has made preparations to implement a system of awarding scholarships to students who have successfully undergone entrance examinations and received recommendations.
Request for Details of Teachers Teaching the Local Curriculum
KMC has made a formal request for the provision of information regarding the teachers responsible for instructing the local curriculum, specifically the 'Nepal Language,' which has been implemented over the past three years. KMC has been offering Nepali language instruction as part of the local curriculum from grades one to eight. While the public schools have been actively teaching this curriculum, certain private schools have raised concerns. Consequently, the KMC Education Department has requested specific details about the teachers assigned to teach the local curriculum in each school.
The aforementioned local curriculum encompasses various subjects such as Kathmandu's art culture, language, religion, rituals, religious sites, historical heritage, and other related topics. Presently, there are a total of 89 public schools functioning under KMC's jurisdiction, whereas there are 504 private schools in operation.
