'Help from private sector must for development of education'

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DHANGADHI, Mar. 24: Assistant Minister for Education and Sports Rabindra Khanal inaugurated a workshop constructed by the Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT) on the premises of the local Panchodaya Secondary School on Sunday.

The workshop constructed under the annex programme of CTEVT has been completed at a total estimated cost of Rs 450,000. The workshop block has a seating capacity for 40 students.
On the occasion, Assistant Minister Khanal said that the workshop has been constructed in line with the government's objective of producing skilled technicians.

Pointing out that each and every educational institution should be developed as a peace cottage, he said politicisation of educational institutions would hamper in attaining their goals.

On the occasion, he also inaugurated a two-room annex to the primary school block constructed on the premises of the school. The annex was constructed at the cost of Rs 271,000 provided by the District Education Office and by mobilising local voluntary labour.

Chairman of the school management committee Bam Bahadur Kathayat presided over the programme.

Also on Sunday, Assistant Minister Khanal inspected the Secondary Education Development Centre, the district scout office and the school for blind children on the premises of Panchodaya Secondary School.

Meanwhile in Lalitpur, a workshop on 'future policies and programmes, leadership development and school management' organised here from Saturday by the Private and Boarding Schools Organisations (PABSON) concluded here Sunday.

Concluding the workshop, Assistant Minister for Education and Sports Rabindra Khanal said His Majesty's Government is committed to resolve the problems faced by the private schools.

He also lauded the role played by the private sector in educational development of the country and added that educational progress will be attained from the government and private sector cooperation.
Acting secretary at the ministry Chuman Singh Basnet said HMG is serious to resolve the problems of the sector.

PABSON chief advisor Rajesh Khadka called for timely reform on educational tax and school registration.

The workshop called for simplification of the school registration, arrangement for running 750 closed down private schools, implementation of the tax system after registration of all the schools and came to a conclusion that the 1.5 per cent of total income for the rural education development fund is impractical.

The workshop attended by 100 PABSON officials from 37 districts was presided over by PABSON central president Umesh Shrestha.

City police mobilised to check illegal constructions

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RATNANAGAR: The Ratnanagar Municipality has inducted city police into its service and mobilised them since Sunday to Manage the unsystematic market of the town as a result of growing urbanisation.

The municipality has inducted the city police into its service in a bid to beautify the city by checking the haphazard market and unauthorised roadside constructions etc. With the help of the city police.
Four city policemen have been inducted in the primary stage, according to Bhagawan Aryal, municipality's executive director.

Helpless heart patient seeks assistance to cure disease

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CHAUTARA, Mar 24: The 21-year Hem Bahadur Shrestha of Sindhupalchowk district Syaule VDC word No 4 is worried for not being able to have his heart treated on want of money.

Shrestha, who has been struggling against chronic cardiac ailment for past 10 years, had been working as a dish-washer at a local restaurant since 1997 for living, but left the job last year and started living miserable days at house as his disease became acute.

Hem Bahadur, who had become an orphan two years ago when his father and mother had been buried alive under a heap of soil the moment they were digging the foundation of their house, has a little sister and a brother with him.

The real plight in his life started when his brother, who had somehow been able to maintain expenses necessary for the medicine from his vendor's business, was caught by the army patrolling team on charge of being involved in illegal import of goods from Khasha and imprisoned since last September.
'I haven't been able even to have normal medicines since then and the situation is badly aggravating,' says Hem Bahadur.

Shrestha, who had had his heart treated at Martyr Ganga Lal Heart Centre for a week last December, has been given words by the hospital authorities to change the valve of his heart free of cost and given the date for surgery on May 2.

'It takes still more than Rs. 40,000 for other materials and medicines in addition to the hospital charges made free and it now seems impossible to maintain the amount at present,' says Hem Bahadur with tears in his eyes.

'The only way left is to sell the small piece of sloppy land belonging to me but it is still harder to find a buyer now,' he says.'

Recalling the moment three months before when he was given words by Minister for Physical Planning and Works Narayansingh Pun to provide help for his treatment. Shrestha says, 'but I couldn't see him even I tried to meet more than six times in Kathmandu.'

The frustrated and hopeless Shrestha says, 'not only the disease but even the people deceived me.'

Talk programmes

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KATHMANDU, Mar. 24: The Culture Department of the Royal Nepal Academy (RNA) and the South Asia Institute, Heidelberg University, Kathmandu branch have jointly organised altogether 12 talk programmes on different topics during 2000-2003.

According to chief of the RNA Culture Department Dr. Ram Dayal Rakesh, the talk programmes organised during this period are- the Guthis of Khokana Traditional structure and cultural change by Dr. Silke Wolf, research scholar at the University of Frankfurt, Germany; Bungadya: the tenacious survivor of a Pan-Asian Buddhist cult by Prof. William Douglas of the Oxford University; commodities, identities and the Aura of the other by Dr. Peter Moran, director Trinity College, Hartford CT, USA; Mandalas and Yantras in the Indian Smarta tradition by Prof. Gudrun Wiseman; the warring Shaktis: a Paradigm for Gupta conquests by Dr. Katherineanne Harper, Prof. of Asian Art, history Marymount University, Los Angeles California, USA; and 'Tantrik Buddhism, sexual initiation and monasticism. Are they compatible?' by Dr. Isabelle Onians, Oxford University, London.

Similarly, talk programmes on 'Aspects of Jaina thought and practice' by Dr. Jayandra Soni, Prof. Indian languages and philosophy University of Marburg, Germany, 'Amritanand Bandya' by Harihar Raj Joshi, 'Mariata kind:Mendrup', 'Michael zimmermann: Buddhism and violence', 'towards an iconography of Newar Buddhism' by Dr. Deena Bangdel and 'Surya and Chandra Mandala in the art of Nepal' by Dr Gurd, a German scholar, were also held during the period according to the RNA Culture Department.

Cows preservation forum formed in Janakpurdham

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JANAKPURDHAM, Mar 24: A large number of gathering of local people here yesterday with an objective of preserving and promoting the species of cows constituted a 15-member Cows Preservation Forum, Nepal with Jagadish Mahaseth as the chairman.

Vice-chairman, general-secretary, secretary and treasurer of the committee are Kameswor Jha, Chiranjivi bas Giri, Satya Narayan Prasad Shah and Ashok Kumar Jain respectively.

Likewise, the members are Atul Kumar Mishra, Bittu Paswan, Ram Chandra Panjiyar, Bechan Purbe, Dilip Kumar Boyanka, Mrs Renuka Pokharel, Nilam Karna, Manish Chandra Lal, Ram Ashish Chaudhary and Om Prakash Chiraniya.

The forum has given its priority on controlling the smuggling of cows and generate awareness about the significance of cows in hindu religion, it was informed on the occasion.

'Peace talks should be transparent'

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BHAIRAHAWA, Mar. 24: Member of Nepal Communist Party (UML) standing committee and chief of party department of publicity Pradeep Nepal has said that the party has reached up to the rural level with people's campaign for making the peace talks sustainable and reliable.

Addressing a gathering of party workers in Bhairahawa recently he said people wanted permanent peace in the country and the peace talks should be held accordingly.

The Maoists have helped the regressive forces by giving a slogan of peace he said adding that the peace talks between the government and the Maoists should be transparent.

He said the agenda of the talks should be made public and it should be transparent.

Meanwhile, a meeting of the CPN-UML liaison department held here Sunday has unanimously elected Dr. Bhisma Adhikari as secretary of the department.

The meeting has also taken various decisions including on specifying the field of activities of department members, organising a central level gathering on March 29 in the context of the mass campaign and preparing an outline for the annual action plan for the year 2060.

At the meeting, head of the department Asta Laxmi Shakya administered the oath of office to the newly elected members including the secretary.

Art show

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KATHMANDU, Mar 24: Pakistani Ambassador to Nepal Zamir Akram inaugurated an exhibition of contemporary art of Pakistan at the Siddhartha art Gallery here Sunday. On the occasion, Ambassador Akram also released a book entitled "Unveiling the visible" authored by Salilma Hasami narrating the life and work of Pakistani women artists. Thirty- eight works by l3 different women artists are on display at the exhibition to be held until April 1.