Ever since the promulgation of the Constitution of Nepal, successive governments made enacting a federal education law their top priority. However, it took eight years and several failed attempts for the new education bill to land in Parliament.
The government on Wednesday registered the bill necessary to manage the education sector as provisions by the new constitution. Voices for and against several proposed legal provisions have surfaced even the House starts deliberating the bill. Here is a look into the bill and why it has become a hotly contested issue.
What is the bill all about?
The Constitution of Nepal that institutionalised federalism devolved several authorities the central government had been enjoying to the provincial and local levels. The local units now have more authority to manage school education as per the statute. However, constitutional provisions remain unimplemented in the absence of requisite laws. A study by the Legislation Management Committee of the National Assembly shows that 40 laws, including the school education Act, still need to be promulgated for full-fledged implementation of the constitution.
It was mandatory to pass laws related to fundamental rights within three years of the charter’s promulgation. The federal parliament endorsed the bills on 31 fundamental rights a day before the September 19, 2018 constitutional deadline.
As per the statute, the Acts that contradict the constitution must have been revised within a year of the first meeting of the federal parliament elected after the promulgation of the constitution. That meeting took place on March 5, 2018. But successive governments failed in preparing such laws, flouting the constitutional deadline. Years after, the federal education bill has been introduced.
