CPN (MC) calls for issuing School Education Act based on consensus with teachers
The CPN (Maoist Center) has urged the government to immediately issue the School Education Act based on the agreement reached with the Nepal Teachers' Federation in the past.
Issuing a press release today, CPN (Maoist Center) Vice Chair and Spokesperson Agni Prasad Sapkota urged the government to create an environment by issuing the Act through a special session of Parliament or other means so as to facilitate the agitating teachers to fulfill their teaching responsibilities.
Pointing out that qualitative reforms in the education sector are the need of the hour, the Maoist Center has said that the job security of teachers working at the school level for long is an essential condition by creating a motivational environment for them.
Although the Constitution guarantees the right of the common man to receive education, the educational sector cannot be restructured in accordance with the spirit of federalism until a necessary legal and policy framework is put in place.
The CPN (Maoist Center) has drawn the attention of the government to issue the Acts related to the civil service, education, health and police and to emphasize on their implementation.
Stating that the government led by the CPN (Maoist Center) had formulated the School Education Bill and registered it in the Parliament amid various difficulties, the Maoist Center has accused the government of playing with the profession and future of teachers and students by not passing the Bill as soon as possible.
Spokesperson Sapkota said, "It is contradictory to ignore the legitimate demands of the agitating teachers for 10 months after the formation of the government and to argue that the bill will be passed in the budget session after the teachers' agitation intensified."
Expressing solidarity with the demands of the teachers, the Maoist Center has called upon the general public to stand by the teachers.
Government appoints senior Deputy Governor Timsina as Acting Governor
Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) senior Deputy Governor Nilam Dhungana Timsina has been appointed as the Acting Governor.
Timsina was given the responsibility by the Finance Ministry after the recommendation committee formed for the appointment of the Governor delayed the recommendation process.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Poudel has appointed Timsina as the Acting Governor in accordance with Section 27 of the Nepal Rastra Bank Act 2058 BS.
A three-member committee comprising former Governor Bijaya Nath Bhattarai and economist Bishwa Poudel has been formed under the coordination of Finance Minister Poudel to recommend the appointment of Governor.
RSP President Lamichhane sent to jail
Rastriya Swatantra Party President and former Managing Director of Gokha Media Group Rabi Lamichhane has been sent to jail for judicial custody on Monday.
He was arrested and sent to jail after the Tulsipur-Butwal Bench of High Court overturned the order of Rupandehi District Court to release him on bail of Rs 10 million in cooperative and organized crime.
Earlier, both the District Attorney's Office and Lamichhane had appealed to the High Court, stating that they were dissatisfied with the district court's order.
Rupandehi District Police Office SP Ranjit Singh Rathore said that Lamichhane was sent to jail in Bhairahawa after presenting him at the District Court following the order of the High Court.
Lamichhane, who was arrested in Kathmandu on Friday, was taken to Bhairahawa from Tribhuvan Airport on Saturday morning. Later, he was kept in custody at the District Police Office.
He was produced at the court today as there were holidays on Saturday and Sunday.
On January 19, the District Attorney's Office, Rupandehi, had filed a case in the Rupandehi District Court making President Lamichhane among others as defendants in connection with the fraud case of the Supreme Savings and Credit Cooperative Society in Butwal.
A prosperous, resilient and open BIMSTEC
The sixth BIMSTEC summit held in Bangkok on April 4 has issued a declaration titled Prosperous, Resilient and Open BIMSTEC. The summit has expressed satisfaction on the coming into force of the BIMSTEC Charter on 20 May 2024. The summit has adopted the BIMSTEC Bangkok Vision 2030 for common aspiration toward a forward-looking BIMSTEC region that is prosperous, resilient and open to tackle challenges and seize opportunities for the coming decade. It has agreed to take appropriate measures on priority basis in the areas of mutual benefit to build a robust BIMSTEC to address the contemporary global challenges, expressed in the BIMSTEC Bangkok Vision 2030 (included as Annexure) as part of this declaration.
It has also adopted the rules of procedures for BIMSTEC Mechanism as recommended by the ministerial meeting and reiterated the commitment to timely holdings of the summit and meetings of all BIMSTEC mechanisms. The summit commended the Eminent Persons’ Group on the future direction of BIMSTEC for their report and recommendations, and emphasised on the early implementation of recommendation. The secretary-general has been mandated to monitor and report the progress of implementation of EPG’s recommendations to the summit.
The summit reiterated commitment to swiftly conclude the BIMSTEC Free Trade Area Agreement (FTA) and direct the Trade Negotiating Committee and its working groups to finalize the constituent agreement to BIMSTEC FTA without any further delay.
Acknowledging that several BIMSTEC member-states are poised to graduate from the LDC status, face structural constraints and challenges that hinder their competitiveness in external trade due to the, among others, high trade and transit cost and commit to extend necessary support to the graduating and land-locked member-states in their development efforts, with a view to ensuring equitable benefits during the implementation of BIMSTEC FTA, the declaration says.
The summit urged the member-states to explore the possibility of establishing BIMSTEC mutual recognition arrangements of standards to reap the benefits of trade facilitation measures within the region. It further urged the member-states to finalize the agreement on trade facilitation and agreement on cooperation and mutual assistance in customs matters on a priority basis. The declaration also called for encouraging relevant officials of member-states to explore the possibility of establishing digital cross-border payment systems and trade settlements in local currencies, noting that some member-states have already adopted the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
