Technical skills over bookish knowledge: 15 self-help schools coming soon

By Kiran Chapagain

KATHMANDU, Dec 19 – In keeping with the policy of gradually introducing technical and vocational components in the existing education system, the Education Ministry will be beginning such courses in 15 secondary schools, three from each development region, from mid-February.

Minister for Education and Sports, Amod Prasad Upadhayay, said on Monday his Ministry has already received applications from interested schools from the five development regions. And a team of experts from the Centre for Technical and Vocational Training (CTVT) is visiting the schools next week to study their infrastructure situation and finances.

"The government will bear the installation costs," said Minister Upadhayay. He also informed that the running expenses of the schools will be decreased by 10 per cent every year and finally will be run by a "block fund".

The government in last July’s annual budget had announced that a technical and vocational education programme will be introduced in 15 government secondary schools using the infrastructure of the schools within the fiscal year.

Although now the CTVT and four private schools impart such skills, many say they are not effective and only a few have access to such institutions.

"The government is taking this step so that more and more can have access to such skill-based education," said Minister Upadhayay.

The Education Ministry has already called for applications from teachers for the course, the Minister added.

He also said that the government is talking with donor agencies like the Asian Development Bank and the Department of International Development (DFID) as well as with the Government of Japan to seek their support for the programme.

"We have asked the donors to change the definition of assistance, we have asked them to support programmes like this which will promote technical education—this is the present need of country," said the Education Minister.

As the emphasis is on "self-help", the Minister said there are no plans to increase the number of "general schools".

The Ministry is also looking into the aspect of poor performance of secondary-level students in subjects like Science, Maths and English. Upadhayay said that a special programme is on the agenda to improve the quality of education in these subjects.

He also revealed the Ministry’s plan to monitor the government schools across the country. "We are going to set up supervision teams in all 75 districts which will evaluate education activities. This is because the school inspector’s role has not been effective," he said.

The team will comprise of a government official, a resource person, and a senior teacher from the respective district. The number of teams will differ from district to district depending on the number of schools in each. The team will study the weaknesses of the schools, their management, and the teaching quality.

Presently, secondary school inspectors and lower secondary school inspectors are responsible for the monitoring job.

Taxman preparing defaulters' list as VDIS deadline approaches

By Satyendra Timilsina

KATHMANDU, Dec 19 – The government urged tax defaulters to voluntarily disclose their sources of income by January 13 or face confiscation of their properties. And yet, despite the announcement of scheme in this year’s budget– called Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme (VDIS) – the tax department has only recouped a meager Rs 2 million in back taxes.

That is now leading the government to harden its resolve to unearth undeclared income and wealth. High level officials in the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) told The Kathmandu Post that the Department had already prepared a list of 500 persons who will be thoroughly investigated if they failed to declare their assets and incomes by the deadline.

The list, which could grow longer by the end of the deadline, is based on transactions of past 10 years on real estate, vehicles, mobile telephone bills and other capital assets. The individuals in the list, the officers say, are thought to have assets disproportionate to their declared sources of income.

Avanindra Kumar Shrestha, the Deputy Director General of the Department, said that as the deadline looms nearer, the Department is asking relevant offices such as the Land Revenue Office, Nepal Telecom Corp and others to provide a list of people who have respectively conducted real estate transactions and who pay more than Rs 24,000 in telephone bills. A list of mobile phone users and vehicle owners are also being sought.

Also included in the list are professionals such as doctors, engineers, lawyers and auditors. The department is also collecting the information of government and non-government employees, social workers, teachers, businessmen, industrialists and the leaders of the political parties and others.

The lists would help the taxman select appropriate targets after the deadline passes on January 13. Tax evasion in Nepal is endemic, thwarting the government’s attempt to raise revenue. But the VDIS scheme aims to correct that, if everything goes according to plan.

Earlier, the department had issued a notice for individuals to file tax returns late by January 13 if they fall under any of four criteria – owning a house with more than 3,000 sq ft area or has been rented monthly for more than Rs 10,000, owns a minimum 700 cc private car, pays a minimum of Rs 24,000 as a telephone bill annually and is a member of any club whose annual membership fee exceeds Rs 10,000.

Showing commitment to take action over the tax evaders, Shrestha says, "We have categorized the taxpayers and we will start the action from January 14 without any failure." The investigation would be carried out to all possible taxpayers. However, the action will be taken against them who fail to show the tax paid receipt during the inspection, he added.

The taxpayer filing tax return within the date would be taxed at 10 per cent rate. But if the taxpayer files its income statement or is caught by the department after due date, the taxpayer will have to pay at the rate of 25 percent along with the additional late fine, informed Shrestha.

The government has targeted a revenue collection of Rs 1 billion from the VDIS within the current fiscal year. But according to the IRD, only six persons have declared their income since the scheme was announced, contributing a meager Rs 2 million in back taxes.

No asylum to rebels: Chinese envoy Two Maoists killed

KATHMANDU, Dec 19 (PR) - Security forces on Tuesday killed two Maoist "terrorists" and arrested scores of suspected rebels across the country, said a statement issued by the Defence Ministry today.

The statement said that one of the deceased has been identified as Balkumar Shrestha of Gorkha district. The security forces shot him dead when he tried to break the security cordon. It is learnt that Shrestha was involved in bombings in various administrative units in the district.

Though unidentified, the other deceased was shot dead by the security forces when he also tried to escape from the security cordon, the statement added.

The security forces have also seized 66 guns in Chisapani, Gorkha and bombs, besides socket bombs, bucket bombs, pipe bombs in many places across the country on Tuesday. Combat dress and documents related to the Maoists have also been recovered from Gorkha district. Likewise, security forces have arrested 38 suspected people from four districts.

In the trekking routes of Nepal, the local Cupid waits to strike

By Ranjana Pradhan

KATHMANDU, Dec 19 – They come here for the adventure, and then they experience the biggest adventure of them all—falling in love. Among the thousands of tourists who visit Nepal every year, there are scores who have fallen prey to the local Cupid.

The Department of Immigration figures say that in the last year, more than 158 marriage visas have been sanctioned to foreigners; these visas allow them to stay on in Nepal for anything from a minimum of three months to a maximum of a year.

The Western women trekkers seem to be the most ‘vulnerable’ lot. And the Nepali men are not complaining. Not at all.

"I met Sara (Gottlebe) during a rafting trip here," says Ramesh Gurung who was a Trishuli rafting guide for ten years. Then love took over, and 26-year-old Gurung is now a happily married man living with wife Sara in Denmark.

But it was not easy when the local Kuringat boy went to Denmark for the first time. The rafting guide turned a butcher for six months in a Danish slaughterhouse. It was only recently that Gurung landed a more comfortable job and one with which he is familiar, that of a guide.

Now here on a holiday, Gurung is grinning widely. "I am a happy man, I am with Sara and I have a job too. I have a Denmark citizenship now, and can frequently visit home as well. I don’t know what might happen in the future but for now I am quite satisfied."

So what is it that draws the Westerner to a Nepali suitor?

Bimal Naharkee of Eco Treks thinks it’s the warmth. "The warm treatment that the tourists get here attract many women who are fed up with the Western dating scene," says Naharkee.

Then there is the close camaraderie of a trek or a rafting expedition. "During the trekking trips, the tourists and the guides stay together for days and sometimes even weeks, that is when they get to really know each other," says Naharkee who has seen many a cross-border fling. "But it is very rare that they get married. Most of the girls are simply out here to have a good time and sometimes our poor guys fall for it," he smiles.

Yes indeed, most of these Himalayan liaisons don’t survive the early excitement. There are enormous obstacles out there—ethnic, cultural and religious.

Like in the case of 29-year-old rafting guide, Suresh Maharjan of Lazimpat, who met Jane Cox from England a decade back when she had come down for a holiday. "Me and Jane were together for 5 months. She left after that and later informed me that she was pregnant. That was five years back. Now we have a son, Keir Simon Cox, and I haven’t seen him even once, that’s because I cannot go and live in England and Jane cannot live here."

Suresh thinks that the relationship between the guides and the foreigners never go a long way. ""These girls think that we guys go after them for the money which is not true. And girls like Jane cannot live here in Nepal and we Nepali guys are very egoistic to go and live with them there. I take this relationship as an experience," says the guide.

But for every ten stories of relationships falling by the wayside, there’s always a happily-ever-after story. Like that of Ganesh Singh Khadka who fell in love with a Dutch girl while she was trekking in the mountains. Khadka is now happily married to his beau and settled in the Netherlands.

And even as you finish reading this, one more foreigner might have fallen to the Nepali Cupid.

Deuba urged to declare whereabouts of arrested persons

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Dec 19 – A human rights body on Wednesday urged the Prime Minister to make public the whereabouts of the different arrested persons, including its own officials, since the declaration of emergency in the country.

Human Rights Organisation of Nepal (HURON) in a statement issued today said that journalists, human rights activists, lawyers, teachers and many other personalities have been arrested since a State of Emergency was declared on November26. HURON statement added that those arrested were not able to meet their relatives.

It also asked the government to allow them to meet its detained member and president of the Chitwan branch of HURON, Dr Bhim Raj Adhikari, and other detainees. The human rights body also appealed the government not to arrest innocent citizens and to protect the unarmed citizens for the operation of the security forces.

Similarly, Communist Party of Nepal (United) today demanded of the government to release its Saptari district member Raslal Ram who was arrested in Rajbiraj two days ago. The party issuing a statement today said that the whereabouts and the condition of Ram was not known. The party also accused the government of "creating terror" by arresting members of other parties without any reason.

‘India will attend SAARC’

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Dec 19 – A high-level government officials said on Wednesday that India has accepted the invitation to attend the 11th SAARC Summit to be held in Kathmandu in the first week of January.

Dr Ram Sharan Mahat, Minister for Finance had taken the invitation to India and had returned on Tuesday.

Speaking to The Kathmandu Post on condition of anonymity, the official quoted Dr Mahat as saying that India has shown positive signs towards attending the three-day Summit. He also said that there would be no let up in the preparations for the Summit which is in full swing now.

With India accusing Pakistan’s ISI of masterminding the December 13 attack on its parliament, doubts have raised about India’s participation. In 1999, when the Summit was originally scheduled to be held, the seven-nation regional meet was postponed after the Kargil war and the subsequent military coup in Pakistan that brought Gen Pervez Musharraf to power in that country.