5 implicated in SLC exam irregularities

By Pramod Poudel

KATHMANDU, Dec 19 - For the first time in the history of SLC examinations, legal action has been initiated against five persons accused of tampering with the marks of SLC examinees.

Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) today filed a case against five persons accusing them of tampering with the answer sheets, thereby bringing change in the Top Ten list of SLC results 2056.

The Appellate Court, Patan today released Kedar Chandra Khanal, Kirti Prasad Pandey, Ishwor Prasad Sapkota and Bhimsen Khatri who were accused of tampering with the SLC marks on individual bail of Rs 10,000.

They were involved in the manipulation of marks of some of the students of 2056 BS SLC batch.

The bail application was accepted by judges Madhav Raj Thapa and Govinda Kumar Shrestha after a hearing on the case filed by the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) on Tuesday.

CIAA started investigations into the case last year after several private schools alleged Office of the Controller of Examinations of manipulations and bribery.

The case filed by CIAA stated that marks were added in some answer sheets without any justification during reevaluation of the answer sheets. It alleged that the "answer paper evaluating directive" clearly states that the subject expert’s (assigned by the Chief of the Office of the Controller of Examination) approval should be taken while adding 15 or more marks during the revaluation process. However, the directive was not followed while adding the marks, said Drona Raj Regmi, a government attorny fighting on behalf of CIAA.

Kedar Chandra Khanal, Deputy Director of the Distance Education Centre, as one of the re-evalution examinor, had added 23 marks on Krishna Dhungana’s Office Practice and Book-Keeping answer sheet, which secured him the second position in the prestigious Top Ten list.

Kirti Prasad Pandey of SITA school had facilitated Rakesh Kumar Gupta (symbol no 0290863 ‘A’) to stand Board Eighth by giving him an extra 15 marks in Health subject.

Likewise, Basuki Raj Regmi, teacher of Birendra Sainik Higher Secondary School had also added 15 marks to the marks obtained by an examinee, making it to 32 (the pass mark) in Nepali.

Iswor Prasad Sapkota, Assistant Headmaster of Padma Kanya Secondary School, had added 24 marks in "Mathematics", making it 39, to a student with symbol no. 127061 ‘E’. Bhimsen Khatri, Headmaster of Ganesh Secondary School of Chapali, had added 20 marks of the student with the same symbol no. on a paper to be obtained 15 marks in Geography, thus promoting a failed student.

Sources say that the student who was given additional marks in Geography and Mathemantics is the daughter of the former Comptroller of Examination, Hari Bol Khanal.

Attorney Drona Raj Regmi and Sudarshan Lamichhane pleaded the case from CIAA and Dhruba Nath Panta, Bishow Sigdel and Narendra KC defended the accused.

Greek FM ends visit Briefed on refugee crisis

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Foreign Minister Chakra P. Bastola (R) with his Greek Counterpart George Papandreou during the press conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Shital Niwas, Papandreou concluded his 3-day visit Tuesday.

KATHMANDU, Dec 19 - Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou today got a first-hand briefing about the Bhutanese refugee crisis from his Nepali counterpart Chakra Prasad Bastola. And, what did he think of it?

"It was very interesting," the visiting dignitary said, "in learning about the ground realities of the Bhutanese refugee issue."

Papandreou was talking to journalists at a press conference at Shital Niwas when he made the comments. His three-day visit to Nepal, the first ever official visit by a Greek leader, ended today. Papandreou departed for Dhaka, Bangladesh late in the evening.

Answering reporters’ queries, Papandreou said that his visit to Nepal was as per Greece’s decision "to start certain programs in this region (South Asia)."

He said that he found the ground realities of the Bhutanese refugee crisis interesting, adding that as a member of the European Union (EU), it was important for Greece to have direct knowledge of reality on the ground.

Last September, the EU had raised its concern on the Bhutanese refugee issue suggesting a third party (India)’s involvement in resolving the crisis. The EU position has effectively internationalized the refugee issue, apparently against the wishes of both Bhutan and India.

Papandreou, however, made clear that the main purpose of his visit was to build a closer relationship with South Asia. "We have also over the last years have become more active in taking initiatives in international issues and have decided to start certain programs in the region...We have decided on more institutionalized cooperation mechanism between the two countries."

Papandreou highlighted the programs in the near future as the ones dealing with the environmental issues, hydroelectric projects and the possibility of scholarships for Nepali students in restoration of cultural artifacts and specialization in medicine.

Papandreou, who is accompanied by his special advisor on humanitarian aid, Alex Rondos, also announced a 50,000 dollars humanitarian aid for Nepal in environmental area.

"We do have a project we are funding in India and we are looking into areas here, in which we could be cooperating...We are here now to seek out areas of mutual interest," he said.

Talking to reporters, Minister Bastola also said he raised the specific issue of "accessibility" of Nepali products into the European market, during the talks.

No achievement at NC central body meeting

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Nepali Congress Central Committee members attending the party's Central Working Committee meeting in Kathmandu on Tuesday.

KATHMANDU, Dec 19 - The meeting of the Central Working Committee of the ruling Nepali Congress (NC) that started this morning ended, much to everybody’s surprise, with neither any concrete achievement nor disputes this evening.

The dissident group of the party that was expected to raise several issues in the meeting today, did not exactly raise anything particular, according to sources. Nobody raised the issue of "one person one post", which was expected to dominate today’s meeting.

The only person who is reported to have raised several questions regarding the party and its leadership is former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. Deuba is challenging Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala for the party’s presidency in the election to be held during the party’s tenth general convention to be held in Pokhara from January 19 - 22.

Khum Bahadur Khadka, who had announced on Sunday that he is going to put some proposals to the CWC meeting, did not raise any issues today. Khadka had claimed that he is going to present some "proposals" at CWC meeting on Tuesday. "I will decide whom to support once I present my proposals to the central committee," he had said.

RBB raises interest on deposit

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KATHMANDU, Dec 19 - Rastriya Banijya Bank, has decided to raise the interest rates on its deposits by an average of 0.75 per cent to woo the depositors, following the withdrawal of deposits by some of its clients. It is the only state-owned bank, which will change hands to private management by April next year.

The new deposit rate, which came into effect since yesterday is 6.25 per cent for saving account and 7.5 per cent for two-years’ fixed deposit. A source at the bank said that the interest rate revision was prompted at this point in time by Royal Nepal Army’s partial withdrawal of its deposit from the bank. The Army has a deposit of over one billion rupees in RBB belonging to Army Welfare Fund. "Army has already withdrawn over 150 million rupees from the bank and we have indications that they could further take away their deposits," said the source. " So, in a way, this is also a move to pre-empt that possibility," he said.

The source claimed that the Army has withdrawn the deposit only to invest in one of the joint-venture banks, which has offered slightly higher interest rate. However, he declined to name the joint venture bank.

With the deposit growth remaining stagnant over the years, some of the banks are trying to woo large depositors through individual negotiations on interest offer.

The bank currently holds one of the largest deposits among the commercial banks. It has a total deposit of Rs 35.5 billion rupees and has extended loans and advances of over Rs 23.5 billion as of last June.

The source refused to comment on any liquidity crunch in the bank following the withdrawal but admitted that such withdrawal in the large-scale could create problem in the Bank’s compliance with the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) and Vault cash requirement. Under the central bank’s directive, any commercial bank should maintain at least 8 per cent of its total deposit with the central bank as CRR and 4 per cent of the deposit in its own vault cash to meet the unforeseen demands.

The source also informed that the bank’s board has decided to cut down its lending by at least 40 percent following the Central Bank’s directive to tighten it. Nepal Rastra Bank, the regulatory authority of the banking system, had earlier asked the bank, two weeks ago, to lend cautiously since the bank was in the process of management transfer. Under the Nepal Financial Sector Reform Project, the government is selecting the private operator, for which eight international firms are competing at the final round to manage the messy bank.

Cooperation essential to combat organised crime

By Utpal Raj Misra

KATHMANDU, Dec 19- Officials at a seminar today pointed out the need for information sharing and co-operation among nations to combat organised crime network.

Organised crimes are crossing the international borders in fields as drugs, women trafficking, money laundering, briberies and high-tech crimes in today’s world. It has become necessary to take action to combat and prevent such crimes, they stressed.

The four-day seminar on Effective Counter measures to Combat Organised Crime in Criminal Justice Processes" was jointly organised by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA) and United Nations Asia and Far East Institute (UNAFEI.

Addressing at the seminar, Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Ram Chandra Poudel said that crime, poverty and illiteracy were the major factors that hinder the development process of a country and that this kind of programs were necessary to counter organised crime networks world wide.

"The problem of organised crime cannot be resolved by the efforts of a single nation alone as the criminals are taking advantage of the globalisation process," said Sreekant Regmi, Home Secretary.

Mitsuaki Kojima, Japanese Ambassador to Nepal, said that this kind of exchange of information and international co-operation among police authorities, prosecution officials and judiciary is very useful. " I hope that this seminar will provide us a good opportunity to address crimes, which may otherwise pose a threat to the basic fabric of our society", he added.

Badri Bahadur Karki, Attorney General informed that the money accumulated by intentional organized crime totalled up to US dollars 1.5 trillion a year. He also said that Nepal faced a daunting task of countering international crime due to open border with India.

The seminar aims to deal on various aspects of organized crimes, their effective investigation, prosecution and trial, and the treatment of organized crime offenders.

Students force closure of oldest school

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LALITPUR, Dec 19 - Immediately after the Maoists affiliated student body hampered the education system by closing down schools for a week, the oldest private high school here in this district has been closed again by its own students.

The demands made by the students of Chandi Vidhyasram High School are similar to the ones made by ANNFSU (Revolutionary), including returning the admission fees and cancellation of compulsory Sanskrit education, among others. Students have shut down their own school a few days ahead of their exams scheduled to start on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, local residents and parents accused the Maoist aligned students group of instigating the students to resort to such "undisciplinary" behaviour.

According to Ram Bhakta Shrestha, principal of the school, students suddenly started pressing that the school be shut down during the talks held today, complaining that their "five-point demands" were not met.

The school was established by locals at Nakawaheel, Patan in 1947.

"We can’t return the admission fees at the school’s desire alone...We have already promised building toilets and upgrading our office management," Principal Shrestha said. "I had even been sponsoring a few students from my own salary in my mother’s name who expired in 1976."

" Presently even the NGOs who have been awarding scholarship to promising students are saying they want to withdraw it due to the school’s closure...What can we do?" he questioned.

Where multiple odd marriage is a norm

By Bishnu Kumar Mandal

RAJBIRAJ, Dec 19 – The custom of paying fine for marrying other person’s wife or Jari Pratha is still in existence in the "untouchable" Dom community in eastern Terai. This low caste community believes in its own social justice rather than state law. "Jari" describes a situation where a man marries the wife of another man who is not yet legally divorced.

A person marrying another’s wife has to throw a party as well as pay the fine. Without the festivity the jari-marriage ceases to hold any social recognition.

Haleswor Marik, 60, from Rampur married 12-year old Satarni Domin paying Rs 18,000 as a jari after his three sons died young and his old wife could not give birth to any more children. Now in her 20s, Satarni Domin, has become the mother of two sons and three daughters over an eight-year period. She was married off when she was just eight years old and eloped with Marik at the age of 12, with no concept of what marriage meant.

Child-age and unequal-age marriages are widespread in this community. People hardly remember when they got married for the first time. Children are joyous to see their fathers getting married for a second time.

Marik claims that he and his wife, who is 40 years his junior, are very happy together. "I love both my wives equally," Marik giggles, pressing his loose teeth against his cracked lips. But the dowry system, the bone-breaking tradition which has crippled the upper caste classes, has not entered this untouchable community as yet.

Although Dom people do not directly demand cash and valuables during marriage preparations, parents of the bride simply ask for a couple of pieces of jewellery and a certain amount of money from the bridegroom.

As pig farming is their chief profession, a pig is normally given as gift during the marriage. No festivity is complete without a pork dish.

The Doms do not believe that the existing jari tradition will disintegrate their social structure. They are of the belief that the jari tradition helps perpetuate conjugal life in society. The jari is a tradition in which a man and a woman with an emotional attachment can live together in dignity in society, says Govinda Marik, a local Dom.

"I married twice after my first wife passed away. I have eight children by two wives, who do not quarrel with each other. We earn together and live together," says Govinda from Diman.

Sabitri Devi Domin, 35, who married thrice under the jari system says that she cannot recognize her first husband with whom she was married when she was a mere seven-year-old. Her parents in Bhantabari of Sunsari district arranged for her to remarry with a man from Tankisunwari in Morang after her first husband refrained from accepting her two years later, when she was nine years old. Sabitri’s second husband had to pay Rs 12,000 to her parents before he could accept her as a wife.

Sabitri could not stay with her second husband for more than three years. When she came to visit her parents, her father arranged a third marriage for her with Kari Dom, 50, from Saptari. The jari money was paid to the second husband, Ram Bilas Dom, publicly.

Sabitri, is now mother of four and is living happily with Kari Dom, who is twice her age. "My life could have been ruined had I not eloped here," Sabitri says. She is no exception.

There are hundreds of couples who have married and re-married under the jari tradition. No man and woman can be found living separate from their wife or husband in the Dom community. Kari Marik says that it is the father who decides on his daughter’s marriage.

Advocate Sakal Dev Das says that a man who marries a woman who is already married, is legally punishable and should pay back the amount that had been spent when he married the woman. Das is of the view that the jari system prevails in this community due to a lack of awareness and education.

Dharan to mark centenary

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DHARAN, Dec 19 - The Dharan municipality is to organise a week-long Dharan Centenary Festival to mark the hundred years of its establishment beginning January 3, 2001.

HRH Crown Prince Dipendra will inaugurate the centenary programme, said Manoj Kumar Meyangbo, Mayor of the municipality.

The Crown Prince will also lay a foundation stone of a memorial to be built at Bhanu Chowk, in memory of those who were killed in the 1989-earthquake.

In his book entitled "Dharan: Past and Present," Hareram Karmacharya says, the city situated on the Chure foot-hill, was established by the then Rana prime minister Chandra Shumsher JBR in 1901.

The Ghopa British Camp established in 1952, the Indian Pension Camp started in 1970 and the BP Koirala Institute of Health Science established in 1992 are some of the major infrastructural landmarks that have played a significant role in the modernisation of the city, with a population of over hundred thousand.

In 1961, late King Mahendra declared the city as the zonal headquarters of the Kosi zone. But the city lost its charms as most of the district offices were located to other places.

District Secretary of the Ex-Gorkha Army Servicemen Association, Ramesh Rai, said that ex-Britishmen and ex-Indian armymen played a decisive role in the modernisation of the municipality. Indian Pesion Camp said that over 6,000 Indian pensioners were living in the city which used to be a business centre of estern hill districts before the Dharna-Dhankuta and Mechi Highways were built.

US judge stresses effective rule of law

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KATHMANDU, Dec 19 - Every developing country should struggle to make the rule of law effective and they should find their own model to combat judicial corruption and misconduct, said a visiting American Judge J Clifford Wallace here, Tuesday.

Judge Wallace of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said that to ensure the rule of law to preside, there needs to be a functional judiciary. He stressed the need of judiciary to focus on combating corruption. "For the judiciary to be free and independent the "public will" should be there so that the executives and legislative won’t interfere," said Wallace.

"We have to see if the present judiciary process is effective.

If it is not, then is there a public will to change it? If there is the public will, then the suitable and the best model suiting the country’s requirement should be selected and applied," said Wallace.

Citing the example of Nigeria, Wallace said that the people there know that the judge takes money as bribe and they accept the fact. "It is the bribery that applies there, not the rule of law," he said, stressing that the quality of life is impossible without the rule of law.

Speaking further he said that, rule of law is important even in attracting foreign investment. "Investors want to be sure that their investment is protected and they hesitate to invest if there is no rule of law," he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Lawyer Yubraj Sangraula said, "Judiciary in Nepal is receiving a lot of cases everyday, however the deliverance is too slow," adding, " such delay makes people to believe that the corruption is rampant."

"Due to gap in getting proper information, judges in Nepal are forced to take decisions without knowing the facts fully," said Sangraula.

PERC for scrapping of pension of high officials

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KATHMANDU, Dec 19 - The Public Expenditure Review Commission (PERC) will be recommending the government to scrap the provisions that allow some officials in high ranking posts the facility of both pay and pension.

The Commission is preparing to ask the government to amend all the present Acts that allow this practice like the Civil Service Act and others governing the police, army and the education sectors.

Though there are no official records, it is estimated that some 300 officials appointed by the government as ambassadors, heads of constitutional bodies, commissions, committees and the central bank draw both pension from their retired civil service jobs and salary for their new posts.

Most of the people appointed in these positions are retired bureaucrats and draw pension. Even once they are appointed in these posts they continue to draw their pensions that according to critics allows these people dual benefits at the expense of the tax payers.

The issue first came to public attention when the Chief Commissioner of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) Suryanath Upadhyaya refused to take the pension during his tenure in the new post.

He is the first one to do so.

"We are seriously reviewing the practice of double benefits," said members of the Commission Rameshwor Khanal.

A writ petition has even been filed at the Supreme Court by Bharat Jungam seeking to block the practice. The Chief Justice on Monday ruled to give priority to the case and the case could soon be popping up in the court for a hearing.

According to the recent review in the pay scale, any retiree who is re-appointed in any Constitutional body receives simultaneously more than Rs 15,000 salary per month and over Rs 8,000 in pension money.

The Act concerned with the service, facility and condition of those appointed to the Constitutional bodies - 2034 B.S. - had barred them from enjoying the double benefits. However, the provision was removed in 2050 B.S. (1993) when the Act was amended.

Before that, there was a clear provision which stated that a pensioner who is appointed to any public post would be deprived of pension facility as long as he or she remained in the post.

"This practice allows financial anomalies more than financial strain and we are lobbying with the government to end the practice," said Finance Secretary Bimal Koirala.