Education Minister bats for collective initiatives for educational development

Kathmandu - Minister for Education, Science and Technology Giriraj Mani Pokhrel has said preparations are ongoing to prepare a framework for achieving the sustainable development in regard with education at state and local levels. Chairing a virtual meeting for 32nd general assembly of Nepal National Commission for the UNESCO (NNCU) today, the Minister said the draft of the National Plan of Action in regard with the commitments and priorities for goal no.

4 in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) had been already prepared and actions plans for the state and local level would be drafted. The SDGs, the 2030 agenda for sustainable development goal is a collection of 17 goals, and goal 4 is about the quality education. Commission chair and Minister Pokhrel on the occasion stressed on the need of collective initiatives for the educational development by assimilating science, technology and research amidst the adversity caused by the COVID-19 crisis.

He added the government was focused on the implementation of National Educational Policy and National Science and Innovation Policy. He was of the view that universities at home should accord their priority to research and innovation for the building of new knowledge instead of delivering set knowledge. He insisted on the need of knowledge capable of leading the new normal to positivity.

He called for deconstructing outdated views, assumptions, seeking the attention of related people towards that end and initiation of the UNESCO secretariat for the same in the beginning of the new fiscal year. Presenting the annual report before the gathering, Commission general secretary Dr Baburam Adhikari pledged to escalate the scope of resources through coordination and cooperation. The Commission sets a target of increasing the number of schools associated to the UNESCO Club from existing 74 to 105.

UNESCO Kathmandu education chief Balaram Timalsina said the Secretariat was playing a significant role in the implementation of jurisdictions included in the SDGCs. Former minister Ganesh Shah, Federation of Nepali Journalist's chairman Govinda Acharya, Commission members and vice chancellors and teachers from different universities and representatives from several ministries were present on the occasion. Education, science, culture, mass communication, social and international hydrological programmes are the working areas of Commission which follows UNESCO worldwide assumptions and ideologies as its guidelines.