Government Allocates Rs 218.30 Billion for Education, MBBS to Begin in Sudurpaschim

Kathmandu — Finance Minister Dr. Swarnim Wagle has announced various plans and allocations for the quality education sector through the budget.

Wagle said Rs 1 billion has been allocated to map the infrastructure needs of community schools across the country.

The Finance Minister said programmes in four medical education disciplines, including MBBS, will be run from the 2083/84 academic session at the Shahid Dasharath Chand Health Sciences University in Getas, Sudurpaschim province.

He said Rs 8.60 billion has been allocated for scholarships for targeted students from the school level up to higher education.

Wagle said the study of music, art, and literature will be promoted across the country. He said the government will provide support to establish a Guthi Research Institute and an Ethnomusicology Centre within the premises of the Tripureshwar Mahadev Temple, which is registered under the Rajguthi records.

The Finance Minister said policy provisions and incentives will be put in place to allow high-ranking international universities to operate campuses in Nepal, and that an academic exchange programme between domestic and foreign professors will be launched.

He said legal arrangements will be made to grant universities academic, administrative, and financial autonomy and to run them under a cost-sharing model.

Wagle said youths in foreign employment will be given the opportunity to study under the Open University.

The Finance Minister said a student and teacher-student exchange programme will be run for students studying in grades 5 to 8 in community schools across various provinces.

He said residential schools will be operated to ensure access to basic education for communities that lag behind on the Human Development Index, and that this programme will begin with the Chepang community in Chitwan district.

The Finance Minister said a total of Rs 218.30 billion has been allocated for the education sector.