PM stresses equal access to education

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Dec. 10: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has stressed the need for easy and equal access to education for everyone.

Addressing the convocation ceremony of the Tribhuvan University (TU) at Pulchowk, Lalitpur, on Friday, Prime Minister Deuba emphasised that it was our national responsibility to create an environment where all members of our society can receive education and use their talent for the betterment of the nation.

TU, the largest and oldest university of the nation, marked its 48th convocation ceremony at the Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk, Lalitpur. Over 10,000 students from the undergraduate to the doctorate levels attended the ceremony chaired by the Prime Minister, who is also the chancellor of the university.

Minister of Education, Science and Technology Devendra Poudel, who is also the pro-chancellor of the university, and Vice Chancellor of India’s Central University of Punjab Prof. Raghavendra Tiwari, who was the chief guest, were also present at the event.

Addressing the event, Prime Minister Deuba expressed concern that the education sector had not developed as expected considering the resources invested and asked everyone to focus on improving it and making it more productive.

Nevertheless, he felt happy that TU had been contributing to educational development in the country by producing internationally-competitive manpower.

“Most of the people holding leadership positions in the country 

are products of Tribhuvan University,” he stated. “It is a matter of pride 

for the students too to graduate from such an esteemed educational institution.”

At the same time, he pointed out the need for academia to improve the quality of education they deliver and keep their curriculum updated with the time.

Meanwhile, Education Minister Poudel pointed out the need to link education to employment and production. He also said that Nepal needed to connect its indigenous knowledge and traditions with global skills and establish itself on the international platform.

A total of 63,137 students had received their transcripts between July 2021 to June 2022. Of them, 10,392 had applied to attend the convocation and be conferred with their degrees. 

Additionally, pupils who obtained top scores in their fields were also honoured with medals.

Chandra Kala Rana of Paklihawa Campus, Paklihawa was given the Vice Chancellor Medal for the Nepali year 2077 BS for scoring the highest marks at the Bachelor’s level. Similarly, Tikaram Bhandari of the Central Department of Physics, Kirtipur won the Chancellor Medal for the Nepali year 2076 BS for scoring the highest marks at the Master’s level.

Twenty other people were honoured with 26 medals at the ceremony. However, security personnel denied entry of journalists of this daily into the convocation venue.