Federalism & Localization Centre

Dialogue Details

Inter-Province Education Conference on "Relations, Cooperation, and Future Roadmap

Inter-Province Education Conference on "Relations, Cooperation, and Future Roadmap" Held in Birgunj

An education conference on the topic "Inter-Province Education Conference: Relations, Cooperation, and Future Roadmap" was held on Saturday in Birgunj, jointly organized by the Institute of Federalism at Madhesh University and the Federalism and Localization Center. Honorable Chief of the Madhesh Province Prof. Dr. Surendra Labh Karn graced the presence as the Chief Guest and honorable Education and Culture Minister of Madhesh Province Mrs. Rani Kumari Tiwari graced the presence as the Chairperson of the conference where Social Development Ministers of Koshi Province, Bagmati Province and Karnali Province Mr. Ram Prasad Mahato, Mr. Kanchan Chandra Bade and Mr. Ghanshyam Bhandari attended the conference as special guests. Similarly, Chancellors/Presidents, Vice-Chancellors/Vice-Presidents and Registrars of Gandaki University, Bagmati University, Madhesh Agriculture University, Rajarshi Janak University, Lumbini Technical University and Madhesh University attended the conference.

During the conference, secretaries from the education ministries of all provinces presented on the status, problems, challenges, opportunities, and potential for inter-provincial coordination of education in their respective provinces. Among those who presented were Secretary Khubi Ram Adhikari from Bagmati Province, Additional Secretary Damodar Subedi from Gandaki Province, Acting Secretary Dilip Kumar Thakur from Madhesh Province, and Under-Secretary Yadav Prasad Dulal from Koshi Province, among others.

In his inaugural address, Chief Guest Province Chief Surendra Labh Karn stated that the Institute of Federalism Study Center of Madhesh University is a matter of pride for the entire country. He remarked that universities do not belong to the federal, provincial, or local levels, but rather, a university is simply a university. He suggested that students should be given marks not only based on the answers they write but also on the questions they ask, because asking questions is more difficult. He also expressed that he cannot sleep at night because Madhesh Province has not yet been declared literate.

The chairperson of the program, Education and Culture Minister of Madhesh Province, Rani Kumari Tiwari, announced that there is a plan to declare Madhesh Province a literate province within the current fiscal year. She also complained that most of the indicators in Madhesh Province's statistics are falsified, which has brought shame to the province.

The conference also addressed by Bagmati Province's Minister of Social Development, Kanchan Chandra Bade; Karnali Province's Minister of Social Development, Ghanashyam Bhandari; and Koshi Province's Minister of Social Development, Ram Prasad Mahato.

In the conference, various speakers presented their views, including Dr. Indra Prasad Tiwari, Chancellor of Gandaki University; Dr. Chandramani Poudel, Chairperson of Bagmati Province University; Dr. Dipak Shakya, Vice-Chancellor of Madhesh University; Dr. Vaidyanath Mahato, Vice-Chancellor of Madhesh Agricultural University; Satya Narayan Sah, Registrar of Rajarshi Janak University; Dr. Binod Prasad Dhakal, Vice-Chancellor of Lumbini University; and Bhavani Prasad Poudel, Senator of Tribhuvan University, among others.

At the beginning of the conference, Dr. Khim Lal Devkota, Chairperson of the Institute of Federalism at Madhesh University and also Chairperson of the Federalism and Localization Center, delivered a welcome address to the guests and participants and highlighted gave a on the objectives and significance of the conference in his power point presentation.

The conference formed a council of education ministers from all seven provinces and issued a 14-point Birgunj Declaration.