KATHMANDU, April 8: Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) lawmaker Prakash Pathak has called for an end to what he described as an annual “racket” worth Rs 11.84 billion linked to school textbooks.
Speaking during the zero hour of Wednesday’s meeting of the House of Representatives (HoR), Pathak urged the government to end disparities in textbooks and uniforms between community and private schools.
Who teaches who: parents or children?
He claimed that frequent changes in the school curriculum each year place a financial burden on parents. According to him, despite the government’s directive not to charge admission fees, around 2.4 million students across the country spend an average of Rs 5,000 each on textbooks within 21 days, amounting to a total of Rs 11.84 billion.
Pathak alleged that curriculum changes are often influenced by commission-driven interests of publication houses, which ultimately affects parents.
The lawmaker also said the differences in school uniforms and curricula have created major inequalities in Nepal’s education sector. He called for the development of standardized textbooks that can help students compete internationally and urged the government to bring uniformity in school dress codes to reduce discrimination among students.
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