Pant appointed Education Minister

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Apr. 24: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has reshuffled his Cabinet by appointing a new Minister for Education, Science and Technology after erstwhile Education Minister Bidya Bhattarai tendered resignation from her position and sacking Minister of State for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Purna Bahadur Tamang.

Upon the recommendation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, President Ramchandra Paudel on Wednesday appointed CPN-UML’s leader Raghuji Pant as new Education Minister.  Pant was elected to the House of Representatives under Proportional Representative (PR) election system in 2022.  

Newly appointed Minister for Education, Science and Technology Pant’s swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for Thursday. The portfolio of newly appointed Minister Pant has been brought to eighth position while previous Education Minister Bhattarai was ranked 18th in the 25-member Council of Ministers. She had resigned from her position citing health condition. 

Similarly, Prime Minister Oli relieved Minister of State for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Tamang from his position to come into effect from April 23. As per the recommendation of the Prime Minister, President Paudel reshuffled the Cabinet formed on July 15, 2024, by dismissing State Minister for Energy Tamang.

With the new reshuffle, the Council of Ministers now has 24 members, including 22 ministers and two state ministers.

The Oli-led Cabinet was expanded on August 2, 2024, and was reshuffled for the first time on Wednesday.

It was learnt that Tamang was dismissed for repeatedly making statements against the decisions of the Council of Ministers.

Previously, Tamang had publicly supported Kulman Ghising, the former Managing Director of the Nepal Electricity Authority, who was dismissed by the government.