‘CTEVT churning out incompetent manpower’

By Chandika Dawadi

KATHMANDU, March 4 : The Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT) produces low quality manpower, say people related to the vocational training programme.

‘’CTEVT provides affiliation to private institutions without studying the feasibility of the institution,’’ said Shova Kanta Dhakal who runs a polytechnic institution in Chitwan. However, the CTEVT administration denies such charges and says that the complaints are baseless.

‘’It is a baseless complaint,’ says the Director of Research and Information Division, CTEVT, Dhruba Prasad Dhungel. He claims that more than 80 percent of CTEVT trainees get jobs after completing the training programme. Even the final examinations of affiliated institutions are controlled by CTEVT itself, clarifies Director Dhungel.

‘’Before providing affiliation to private sectors, CTEVT studies physical feasibility, manpower and utility of the institution in that area’’ clarifies officials of CTEVT.

Politicalisation in CTEVT seems to be a major problem, often raised by junior officials of CTEVT. One of the officials who does not like to be named said that CTEVT has become a center to receive party cadres and relatives of various leaders. The Vice-chairman of CTEVT, Saroj Devkota, accepts that political pressure is rampant in CTEVT.

Vocational Education is very important to a developing country like Nepal. The skilled oriented education creates opportunities for self-employment and income-generation activities, which helps to uplift the quality of life in people.

CTEVT is a government-run Council, which has been given the responsibility to produce basic and middle level skilled human resources for the economic development of Nepal. But however, the Council is always targeted for criticism.

"The budgeting system of the Education Ministry is wrong", says Director Dhungel. ‘’Only 10 percent of the educational budget is invested on Vocational Education and this is inadequate to train necessary skilled middle level manpower,’’ clarifies Dhungel.

Currently, CTEVT has been operating 15 schools where nearly 1000 students get training and 125 private institutions affiliated with CTEVT provide vocational education to 6000 students every year. The flow of students to CTEVT indicates the importance of vocational training, say officials at CTEVT. More than 60 percent SLC appeared students failing in the exams, seek vocational training for better employment. But CTEVT’s capacity is limited. However, the council plans to initiate a technical training programme in fifteen general schools by annexing the programme, says Director Dhungel.

‘’The New National Health Policy (1991),’’ plans to set up a sub-health post in every Village Development Committee (VDC), so more manpower has to be trained in the health sector, but lacking a proper budget, CTEVT is now going through a crisis, says Vice-Chairman Devkota.

CTEVT provides training in various fields like automobiles, agriculture, construction, mechanical, plumbing, welding, electricity, electronics, computer, health and hotel management and so on.

Parliament condoles Balayogi’s demise

Post Report

KATHMANDU, March 4 : The House of Representatives and the National Assembly today adjourned all regular proceedings, expressing deep sorrow and condolence over the sudden demise of Speaker of the Lower House of the Indian parliament, G. M. C. Balayogi.

Balayogi, 50, died on Sunday morning when a helicopter he was travelling in crashed at Bhimawaran in the Southern Indian State of Andhra Pradesh.

Soon after the Houses opened Monday, Speaker of the House of Representatives Taranath Ranabhat, and Chairman of the National Assembly, Dr. Mohammad Moshin presented their condolence resolutions and said that the late Indian Speaker was a true friend of Nepal.

Speaker Ranabhat recalled late Balayogi’s interest in the Nepalese parliamentary democratic set-up and his respect for the Nepali people living in India.

Stating that late Balayogi was a rising politician of the Republic of India, Chairman Dr. Moshin said that late Balayogi had deep relations with the Nepali Parliament and people.

The condolence resolutions extend heartfelt condolences to the members of the bereaved family and pray with the God Almighty to provide the people of India strength to bear the sorrow at this hour of grief.

Both Houses observed a minute’s silence to condole the sudden death of late Balayogi.

Educators urged to improve education quality

Post Report

KATHMANDU, March 4 : College teachers gathered at a discussion programme in the capital Monday were urged to be more accountable and duty-bound to improve the quality of higher education in the country.

Speaking at a one-day discussion programme on "the role of university teachers in higher education" organised by the Nepal University Teachers’ Association (NUTA), Professor Prem Raj Pant, Rector, Tribhuvan University said the university is facing the situation of shortages of qualified teachers to replace the out-going ones.

He also informed that every year there is a declining trend in the enrollment of Ph.D. seekers. "Future isn’t so easy. The biggest worry is the ratio of those completing Ph.D. programmes," said Pant.

Nepali Congress (NC) central committee member Nar Hari Acharya said though multi-university concept has come, there has been no clear policy binding all the universities under the same framework.

Professor Ramanath Shrestha, a member at the Upper House of the Parliament outlined the need for a "white paper" to be introduced in the Parliament to bring about a common national policy on higher education.

Various professors and intellectuals also cited politicization of campuses as affecting the environment of higher learning. They said that lack of descent incentives, motivation, working environment and respect for teachers have also been responsible for declining performance of teachers.

Experts Dr Rishiram Pokhrel and Dr Mukunda Bahadur Shrestha presented papers at the programme suggesting reforms in curriculum and outlining the need for reforms in various aspects of higher education in the changing context.

Khagendra Prasad Bhattarai, President of NUTA informed the gathering that the outcome of the discussion in the form of a recommendation will be forwarded to the Planning Commission for taking up future course of action in improving the quality of higher education in the country.

Poor and needy still deprived of energy service

Post Report

KATHMANDU, March 4 : Despite the implementation of many energy programmes in the country by the government and the non-government organisation, the poor and the needy of the country are still deprived of the access of such energy, experts in the field of renewable energy and parliamentarians said Sunday.

"Many energy programmes implemented by the government and the non-government organisation have failed to benefit the poorest of the poor from energy service," said Dr. Govinda Nepal, advisor of International Technology Development Group (ITDG), a UK-based INGO working in the field of developing renewable energy.

Nepal’s remarks came while presenting a country energy strategy to provide access to the ‘poorest of the poor’ at a three-day workshop on Increasing Access of Poor People to Renewable Energy Services. The workshop was organised by ITDG to accumulate ideas from the parliamentarians on increasing access of the poor to renewable energy.

Despite much effort by the government and non-government organisations to provide renewable energy in the country and the implementation of many energy programmes, the poor are still far for the benefit of energy service.

" Fund created in the name of the poor, is out of their reach", Nepal said. At present, the government is providing subsidy to the people for their access to energy.

Speaking at the workshop, lawmaker Rajendra Pandey urged the government and no-government organisations to teach people to utilise locally available energy sources and technology, instead of providing subsidy to people for access to energy.

Another lawmaker Gokarna Bista was of the opinion that though many projects have been carried out in the country, they have not reached to the poor.

Lawmaker from Salyan, Prakash Jwala urged the government to give a due attention to increase the accessibility of the poor to energy whereas parliamentarian Dilli Raj Khanal was of the opinion that the government should first identify those groups who have been deprived of energy before launching any energy programmes aimed at the poor.

Mr Handsome and Mega Model Contest held

Post Report

KATHMANDU, March 4 : A group of judges selected Suraj Shrestha and Prabha Tumngmahang as Mr Handsome and Mega Model at the Mr Handsome and Mega Model Contest 2002 here on Saturday. They were selected from among twenty contestants.

When Suraj was asked how he would like to introduce Nepal to others? His answer was ‘The country of beautiful mountains, home of Lord Buddha and the one and only Hindu Kingdom of the world.’

At the programme, when Prabha was asked her opinion about a woman’s freedom, she replied that a woman doesn’t need freedom but dignity in her home, society and the country. The appropriate answer awarded her the title’s crown.

At the contest, Sayar Dangol and Bhawana Thapa were selected the first runner ups of Mr. Handsome Nepal 2002 and Mega Model Beauty Pageant Nepal 2002.

Similarly, Prahlad Giri was selected as Mr Photogenic and Shanti Lama as Miss Photogenic, Jeewan Rai as Mr Talent and Yamuna Shrestha as Miss Talent, Usha Shrestha as Miss Beautiful, and Gautam Manandhar as Mr Physique, and Bishal Thakuri as Mr. Friendship, and Neetu Shrestha as Miss Friendship. Similarly, Bipal Shrestha and Shristi Shrestha were selected as Mr Catwalk and Miss Catwalk respectively.

When the name of first runner up winner of the Mega Model Contest Bhawana Thapa was announced, she started weeping out of joy.

The programme became more interesting when all the participants easily answered most of the questions. Among them, only one candidate, Shanti Lama, messed up her answer. The heart-throbbing dance performed by Bhimsen Lama on the song Ekadashi Bazaraima... took the audience to the peak of enjoyment.

The judges at the programme were Niru Shrestha, Mani Raj Lawat and Shradha Singh Thakuri. The programme was choreographed by Shishir Jung Rana and Manish Shakya.

Govt to amend Civil Services Act

RSS

LALITPUR, March 4 : His Majesty’s Government is making necessary preparations for the amendment of the Civil Services Act in order to make the administrative machinery more scientific, people-oriented, transparent and impartial.

Changes will be made in the existing Civil Service Act to encourage more women in the civil service as well as promotion procedures and check politicization in offices.

Inaugurating the talk programme on "Policy Uncertainties in Civil Service" organised by Center for Administrative Management and Development (CAMAD) and the 4th general meeting of CAMAD here today, Minister for General Administration Khemraj Bhatta Mayalu said that it is the need of the day to make the civil service impartial, transparent and free from corruption.

The Minister said that the administrative offices should have only one employees association.

Protesting against the practice of formulating and changing laws and regulations for selfish interests, MP Mahendra Bahadur Pandey stressed the need to make the administrative machinery more efficient, people-oriented and healthy.

Presenting a working paper, Dr. Madhunidhi Tiwari said that the government’s policies on development, economic, social, administrative, decentralization and local government were very unstable.

Social organisations help fire victims

Post Report

ILAM, March 4 : The District Natural Disaster Rescue Committee (DNDRC), along with other social organisations and various individuals are distributing food and other necessary goods to people who lost their homes in a fire six days ago.

Property worth millions was destroyed last Wednesday morning when a sudden fire hit more than 35 wooden-shops in the border market of Pashupatinagar in Ilam district. The fire displaced more than a hundred families.

The DNDRC has already distributed a little more than 300 thousand rupees to families whose shops were turned into ashes, according to the committee. The committee distributed at least 2,000 rupees to each family.

The Nepalese in India have also been helping the victims of the fire. The businessmen of Mirik market of Darjeeling district of India handed over 11,000 rupees while the Nepalese of Manebhanjyang handed 5,000 rupees to distribute to the victims.

Similarly, the Ilam Industry and Commerce Association distributed 50 blankets to families affected by the fire and the Marwadi Sewa Samiti distributed 50 bed covers. The Nepal Red Cross Society of Ilam distributed tents, clothes and pots to 33 families, according to the society.

Red Cross, Reiyukai Nepal and Satya Sai Kendra have also collected 20 thousand rupees, which has already been distributed to the displaced families.

A local committee has also been collecting and distributing food, clothes and money to the families. The Relief and Rescue Committee headed by Padam Bahadur Rai, chairman of the ward where the disaster occurred, has collected more than 35 thousand rupees from local clubs and individuals, according to Rai.

Meanwhile, police have started raiding nearby houses following complaints from the victims. The victims reported that a few people looted goods from shops during the fire, said the police.

Police have arrested two individuals with 2 color television sets and 5 bags filled with looted expensive goods. Police and local volunteers are still trying to cleanup the place, according to police sources.

Negligence of govt: Dilemma to people

Post Report

BANKE, March 4 : At a time when there has been wide spread criticism on the expressions of the government that it is committed to giving the people prompt public services, here is a glowing example of how the people have fallen into a dilemma, due to negligence of the government.

More than three hundred families at Rara Basti of this district are unable to pay government tax for the land they own, and neither are they able to sell the land for needy purposes at the same time, owing to negligence of government employees.

The people in this area were shifted from Mugu district 23 years ago, in a bid to extend the Rara National Park. The Office of Land Revenue at Banke had distributed fresh land certificates to the people. However, the people in this new area are still deprived from exercising full property rights on land that rightly belongs to them.

"As the then Forest Reformation High-level Commission failed to complete all the necessary legal actions when transferring the settlement, we people are deprived of the rights to fully utilize our land," said Bal Bahadur Budha at Rara Basti.

The settlement area spreads over 765 bighas of land.

The District Revenue Office states that it has made efforts to settle the problems of these people in the area by informing the concerned department and the Ministry frequently, but this has all come to no avail.

"The statements on the land certificates given to the people in the area have been sent to the Department as demanded, but nothing has materialised as yet, and this problem will persist until the case is handled by the Ministry concerned, or a new committee," said Man Bahadur Swar, Acting Chief at the office of District Land Revenue.

"In order to sort out existing problems, I myself visited the Department, they guided me to the Ministry which then asked me to approach the Land Reformation Office, and from there I was sent to the Ministry of Forest which dismissed the issue, saying that the decision in this regard has been sent to the National Reserve Office," said an employee at the office of Land Revenue, in the district.

Even after a decade, the government has been unable to tell us where to pay taxes for the land we own, said Amar Singha, a local in the area.

Almost all schools, colleges closed

Post Report

KATHMANDU, March 4 : As to the news dispatched by our reporters from different parts of the country, on the wake of two days strike on the educational institutions, called by student wing of the Maoists, nothing untoward occurred today, the first day of the nation wide strike.

However, the schools and the colleges in many parts of the country are reported to be affected by the strike. In most of the places, the educational institutions remained either closed or ran partially.

All sorts of educational institutions remained closed in Nuwakot district. Even the transportation was disrupted in the district as the regular vehicles bound to Rasuwa and Kathmandu refrained from operation today.

However, the strike had no impact on the market, government offices and the government vehicles.

In Morang district, non of the private schools higher-secondary schools and the colleges
operated today while a few government schools ran
partially. "The school couldn’t be run as the number of student was fewer than that of the teachers," said Dr. Upendra Koirala at Mahendra Morang Adarsha Secondary School at Biratnagar, the biggest government school of the eastern region.

The news received from Bhojpur says that non of the educational institutions ran today.

Land owners get miserly compensation

By Motilal Poudel

SURKHET, March 4 : The owners of around 300 kitta of land in Surkhet and Salyan district, and some in Jajarkot district, have been affected by the 137 Kilometres Chhinchu-Jajarkot road, which is under construction. These land owners feel they have not been given a good deal with the compensation amount as yet, said the Chhinchu-Jajarkot Road Planning Office.

Distribution of compensation started last year, and the compensation to be distributed is still incomplete due to a financial crunch in the budget, it is known.

The landowners of the 37 kilometres section of the road have already been provided with the compensated amount, as informed by the Road Planning Office. It was learnt that the Road Planning Office had planned to compensate the rightful owners affected by the road with Rs 10 lakhs this fiscal year, however, this was not implemented due to an inadequate budget.

The demand of Rs. 50 lakhs made to the center to compensate people affected by the road, was not possible as only Rs 30 lakhs had been received so far, informed the Accounts Section of the Road Planning Office.

The amount of compensation is determined by ‘an evaluation committee’ that is formed under the chairmanship of the Chief District Officer (CDO) officiating in the concerned districts.

Timber worth Rs 210 m stolen from Kanchanpur

Post Report

KATHMANDU, March 4 : Lawmakers, Lal Bahadur Biswokarma and Urbadatta Panta, who represent the far-western plain district of Kanchanpur in the National Assembly, said here today that the wood smugglers have stolen valuable sal trees equivalent to Rs 210 million from the jungle of Laljhadi over the last two weeks.

Issuing a joint press statement, the lawmakers also accused the District Forest Office and the local administration of being mute spectators over the smuggling of the timbers from the jungle of Raikarwar Bichhuwa VDC. They claimed that the woodcutters have already stolen about 300,000 cubic feet of logs by felling 1,500 trees from the area.

The statement further says that the Western Regional Director of the Department of Forest had, after making an on-the-spot inspection, also conceded to the smuggling of a large number of sal trees from the Laljhadi forest.

Earlier, lawmaker Lal Bahadur Biswokarma had also shed light on the systematic smuggling of the trees from several forests of his district during the last session of Parliament, the statement added.

The statement claimed that such large amount of timbers could not be stolen without the involvement of the high-level government officials. Then Western Regional Forest Director who tried his best to break the nexus of the woodcutters and government officials was called back to the Capital as directed by the Minister of Forest, the statement said.

The lawmakers, who represent the ruling Nepali Congress and the main opposition CPN-UML, have demanded the government take strong actions against those involved in the wood smuggling.

Mangalsen attacked again, this time by natural calamities

Post Report

MANGALSEN, Accham, March 4 : Security officials of this district, heavily attacked by outlawed Maoist rebels just two weeks ago, had not foreseen something that was to hit them again. This time they had to survive another attack that came in the form of Mother Nature itself, on Saturday night. The hailstorm that lashed the district forced people to leave the tents they were sleeping in and search for a safer haven from the pouring rain.

The tents were almost blown into the heavens by the storm that hit the district at midnight. Police, army officers and cadres spent the whole night shivering behind the dingy and cold walls of the destroyed palace. "We couldn’t sleep during the night," said Deputy Superintendent of Police Biswo Pradhan. "Everything was so wet."

The glittering, shining sun on Sunday morning was a God sent relief to the mishap stricken inhabitants of this district, as they happily dried all their wet clothes and goods in the strong sunshine.

The security forces that arrived as soon as the Maoists left the headquarters Mangalsen after the bloodiest attack ever, spent the better half of their time looking for a place to settle. The police and army are sharing the same kitchen and working together for the reconstruction of the destroyed headquarters.

The new Chief District Officer, Luk Bahadur Chettri, who arrived 4 days after the attack, has set up a makeshift office. The employees of various government offices have started attending work although they are not sure of where to sit and how to start their normal everyday work routines.

"8 among 16 escaped prisoners have come to us but we don’t have a jail to put them into," said a security officer. The Maoists freed these prisoners during the attack.

Meanwhile, the Nepal Red Cross Society of Accham has received relief goods that include tents, blankets, and clothes enough for 300 families. "We have already distributed the goods to 150 families," said Brikesh Bogoti, chairperson of the society.

Laws seem to have no effect on society

Post Report

BANDIPUR, Tanahun, March 4 : The societal dogmas that continue to interpret the lifestyles that we care to live in, and in a society that is caught up in the throes of not knowing that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing; inter-caste marriage is still not accepted in many parts of the country today. 

Those who care to challenge this tradition must be mentally prepared to tolerate the hatred that
comes from our kind of society and then, the ultimate rejection that follows.

A youngster of Bandipur Village Development Committee (VDC)-8, who dared to marry a girl from the so-called lower levels of society, was compelled to leave his place of birth, the only root of his identity.

Dhan Bahadur Sunari Magar, belonging to a village that lies 18 km. east to the headquarters Damauli of Tanahun district, married 18 year old Nira Biswokarma of ward no 6, six weeks ago after a long love affair. But the parents of the boy refused to allow their new daughter-in-law entry into the house.

"I was allowed to enter the house, however, my father didn’t allow my wife to enter," said an appalled Dhan Bahadur.

The newly married couple finally settled in a hut outside the house and worse was yet to come, the villagers stopped employing him for their work. "How can we earn to survive without work, so we decided to leave the village," says Dhan Bahadur. The couple felt this was the only option they had left.

"I was forced to leave the village just because of my inter-caste marriage," says Dhan Bahadur. "The law has allowed inter-caste marriage, but society doesn’t let it happen."

Cold store shortage in bordering areas

Post Report

BANKE, March 4 : Farmers in the bordering areas still continue the decades old practice of approaching to Indian cold stores to store potatos due to the cold store shortage facilities.

The district alone produces 22 thousand metric tons of potatoes annually, however, the farmers here are compelled to visit Nanapara of India, 40 kilometers off the boarder, to store their potatoes.

We are harassed by the Indian police and also by the cold store owners, who demand high service charges, complain the farmers here.

"They charge us high price, while their go-down remains empty if hundred of farmers from Nepal are not to store potatoes in their go-down," says Ramesh Murau, who claims to be storing ten to twenty quintals of potato in the cold store across the border.

The farmers here say that they later sell the potatoes in the Indian market by taking the potatoes out of the go-down, which enables the Indian businessmen exporting their potatoes in Nepal, to have monopoly over the Nepalese market.

"If we had the storage facility in Nepal itself, the Indian merchants supplying potatoes in Nepal would find it hard to compete with ours," say the depressed farmers.

According to the District Agriculture Development Office Banke, potato farming in the district was done on one thousand and eight hundred hectares of rich land, this year.

It is believed that an estimated ten thousand quintals of potatoes pass across the border to India annually in lack of the storage facility.

The country does not have any such facility as yet.

To free the farmers of the district from the existing problem, the government had earmarked the budget of Rs 9 crore four years back and the then State Minister for agriculture had also laid a foundation stone for the construction of a cold store namely ‘Vary Cold Store’ at Kolhapur
of the district. However, no initiation has been undertaken in this regard as yet.

"We had requested the government frequently for the construction of the cold store having the capacity of four thousand metric tons, but our voice has ever been neglected and the farmer’s plight remains the same," said Satya Dev Bhattarai, the chairman of the proposed Cold Store Construction Committee.