High level governance reform panel formed

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Apr. 24: Minister for Communication and Information Technology Prithvi Subba Gurung has said that he is not personally aware of the resignation tendered by Minister for Education and Science and Technology Bidhya Bhattarai.

In a press conference organised to make Monday’s Cabinet meeting decisions public on Wednesday at the Ministry, Minister Gurung said he had no knowledge about the Education Minister’s resignation. Minister Gurung, who is also the government spokesperson, claimed, “The government is not aware that the Education Minister has resigned. If the resignation was submitted to the Prime Minister’s Office, the government spokesperson would know it. It would be discussed in the Cabinet.” 

It is the Prime Minister who accepts resignations. As of today, there is no information of her resignation. However, she has been ill for the past few months, so I think she might not have been able to attend to her ministerial duties.”

Journalists followed up, saying, “But she has already vacated her quarters, hasn’t she?” To that, Minister Gurung responded, “If someone is sick and that s/he can't work properly, what’s there to question about it?”

Similarly, Minister Gurung said that the government was ready to address the demands of teachers who are still on the road to get their demands fulfilled. Minister Gurung acknowledged that the ongoing teachers’ protest has created complexity and urged teachers not to take an all-or-nothing stance.

He said, “If the SEE (Secondary Education Examination) answer sheets are not checked, we won’t be able to publish the results on time. If the results are delayed, the enrollment period for Grade XI) will already be over, which could ruin students’ future. The checking must be done. The student enrollment period has already begun. Teachers must fulfill that responsibility. They must participate in Grade XII board examination process and support the government. The government is ready to address their demands.”

Likewise, the Cabinet meeting held on April 21 decided to provide relief and compensation of Rs. 1 million each to the families of journalist Suresh Rajak and civilian Sabin Maharjan, who lost their

lives during the pro-monarchy protest held in Tinkune on March 28. 

Minister Gurung informed that the decision to provide compensation to the deceased nationals was made as per the proposal tabled by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

According to him, the meeting also decided to form a 15-member high-level Governance Reform Commission under the chairmanship of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

The Cabinet meeting has endorsed the visit of the Chief Minister of Sudurpaschim Province Kamal Bahadur Shah and Chief Secretary of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers of the Province Dr. Kamal Prasad Pokharel to New Delhi, Dehradun and Lucknow for bilateral meeting to begin from April 29 to May 5. 

Furthermore, the government has given agreement in principle to Minister for Finance to ink an agreement to receive loan assistance of USD 100 million to implement the SASEC (South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation) Power System Expansion Project. For this, the government has formed a negotiation team led by Joint Secretary of the Ministry, said Minister Gurung.

The SASEC project aims to improve Nepal's energy sector by increasing grid electrification, generating capacity, and facilitating regional power exchange. 

Also, the government has approved the visit of the Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development Ramnath Adhikari to Sri Lanka to take part in the 17th RIMES Council Meeting and 4th Ministerial Meeting to begin from May 7 to 9 in Colombo and visit of the delegation led by Minister for Defence Manbir Rai to Berlin of Germany to take part in the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial meeting-2025 to begin from May 17 to 18. 

Likewise, the government has transferred Koshi Province Secretary Kedarnath Sharma to the Ministry of the Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation and sent Joint Secretary Chandra Kala Paudel to Koshi Province Office of Chief Minister by promoting her to the post of Secretary.