Education Minister expresses concern over education becoming limited to certificate

KATHMANDU: DEC. 20 – Minister for Education, Science and Technology Devendra Paudel has said the time has come to ponder whether the skills and knowledge obtained in higher education have been confined to certificates only in the context of Nepal.

Minister Paudel, who is also the Pr-Chancellor of Tribhuvan University, said this while addressing the 47th Convocation Day of the University today.

On the occasion, he expressed worry to the situation in which the country’s skilled human resources are compelled to go abroad seeking employment opportunities when what is required is to bring the knowledge developed in the world scenario into the country and utilize the same for the nation’s development.

“I wonder whether it is that our universities’ educational programs and contents are not matching the requirements of our life or is it that we only confined the skills and knowledge we learned to certificate alone and failed to translate that into practice. It is time to ponder over this matter,” the Education Minister said.

He suggested the graduates who have got their degrees to use the skills they have learned to bring about improvement in the life of an individual as well as the society, by synchronizing the knowledge learned with the world scenario and local needs.

Education Minister Paudel stressed on integrating the skills learned with national development in a single bond. He said Nepal could not move forward on the path of development to the expected level as the available means and resources at its disposal could not be utilized in a judicious manner in spite of its cultural, geographical and natural diversities and richness.

The Education Minister and TU Pro-Chancellor urged TU, the country’s biggest and oldest university, to respond to questions like will the country develop or not, and to reduce poverty and unemployment by providing a world-class education. He suggested the University to make its research institutions more effective.

Minister Paudel underscored the need of linking education to skills and skills to production and employment to stop large amounts of money going abroad in the name of higher and quality education.

-RSS