House panel meeting postponed as education minister seeks more time

KATHMANDU: The meeting of the Education, Health and Information Technology Committee of the House of Representatives, scheduled for Monday to discuss the School Education Bill, 2024, has been postponed.

According to members of the committee, the meeting had to be postponed due to a lack of preparation on the part of Minister for Education, Science and Technology Raghuji Pant. “The meeting has become uncertain. The education minister and the government have instructed us not to convene until they are ready. The meeting will only take place once the government is prepared,” committee chair Ammar Bahadur Thapa told Himal Press.  “The government has told us it is in talks with stakeholders.”

Sarita Bhusal, a member of the committee, also attributed the postponement to the minister’s lack of preparation. “We were informed the meeting was set for  Monday, but it was postponed. I have learned it is due to the education minister. We don’t know when it will be rescheduled,” she said.

The meeting was intended to discuss a report submitted by the panel’s subcommittee on the School Education Bill. Key issues, including the management of early childhood development centers (ECDC), private schools, and the integration of temporary and relief teachers, have remained contentious, requiring political consensus.