Education sector messy due to politicking: PM Nepal

• Maoists o

BINOD TRIPATHI

The academic field of the country will get worse in the future if the growing influence of politics in schools and colleges is not curbed immediately.

BIRATNAGAR, SEP 14 - Chaos and commotion marred the convocation ceremony of Purbanchal University held after a four-year hiatus at Biratnagar in Morang district on Monday due to Maoist disturbance.

Activists of UCPN (Maoist) had gathered at Sahid Maidan, the programme venue, to bar Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, also the university chancellor, from attending the function. Scuffle broke out when police tried to intervene, in which 21 people, including five officers, were hurt.

Security personnel lobbed 15 teargas shells to disperse the protesters. Some students and guests attending the function were also knocked unconscious due to exposure to teargas fumes.

Security personnel later managed to secure the venue vicinity and block all routes leading to Sahid Maidan thus clearing the way out for the prime minister’s arrival. Prime Minister Nepal arrived at the function about two hours late owing to the Maoist-police fracas.

Addressing the function, the prime minister said the national politics has undergone a sea change since the fall of monarchy but the education sector has plunged into uncertainty.

“The attacks in educational institutions perpetrated by political parties and their sister organisations are to blame for the situation,” he said. “The academic field of the country will get worse in the future if the growing influence of politics in schools and colleges is not curbed immediately.”

He also stressed on the need of making educational bodies more research-oriented.

At the function, the prime minister also handed over academic certificates to 4,297 students of Bachelor’s and Master’s level under the faculty of Humanities, Management, Medical Science, Science and Technology, Education and Law.

The convocation ceremony of the university had not been held for past four years due to political instability and delay in the appointment of vice chancellor and registrar.