The 6th District Convention of HISSAN Kathmandu aims to unanimously elect a robust executive committee committed to fortifying educational institutions. The goal is to provide world-class education in Nepal, enabling Nepalese students to attain internationally acclaimed qualifications within their homeland and reducing the trend of studying abroad. Simultaneously, the committee aims to articulate and address policy-related challenges for a comprehensive resolution. Ramesh Kumar Silwal, the President of Central HISSAN, is regarded as an academic encyclopaedia, possessing a clear vision, mission, and plan to steer the organization smoothly. Mr. Silwal emphasizes the incomparable role of private educational institutions in enhancing the quality of education, a perspective he has shared with College Readers Excerpts:

HIThe statistics and data unmistakably reveal the significant role played by the private sector in achieving high-quality education, generating outstanding outcomes, and thereby shaping students into capable and self-assured global citizens in Nepal. Nevertheless, this sector experiences agitation and resorts to protests and shutdowns repeatedly during the formulation of the Education Act, aiming to safeguard its well-being and existence. The question arises: is the issue rooted in the private sector’s inability to persuade policymakers, or does it stem from the questionable intentions of politicians?

Primarily, there are two types of education system in Nepal. They are private sector and government sector.  There are more than 28000 government schools and around 7000 private schools. Only 28% of SEE students are from private schools. When talking about quality of education, 80% of A+ and A grade holders are from private institute while only 20% are from government schools. There is no concern in improving quality of education, providing required equipment to government schools rather people are behind those who are successful. Private sectors are well managed thus they are always ready for the competition. As their main attraction is proper management and standard of education. There is no reward and punishment system in government schools. Government schools believe degrade in their quality is due to private sectors. There should be efforts to improve entire education system. Government schools are supposed to be free but except 79 government schools, all were found taking fee from students. The top 25 government schools found to have collected 56 percent of their expenses from the parents and guardians. There is no free education in the world, there is only difference that who is going to pay for that. In private sectors, parents and students pay for education and in government schools, government pays from the tax we have paid.  There should be a custom of appreciating and following correct practices whether done by government or private sectors. In context of health and education field, private sectors are seen through wrong intention. The main problem is intention of people in policy making.

People in high post believe private education is best but they hesitate to support private sectors publically. What might be the reasons behind this psychology?

The works we are doing in private sector is not illegal. The constitution has envisioned the equal contribution of private sectors, government and cooperatives in every field for the prosperity of the country. Private sector is one important unit which helps in creation of employment opportunities and increase the standard of education. The rate of migration of students is increasing day by day which also involves private investment. Students are happy to pay large amount of money to go abroad but they are not satisfied with quality education provided here in low cost. Policy makers should also consider this point. There is a provision of regulation of private sectors by constitution, we have no objection with it but those policy makers only want to control us. It might be the consequence of bureaucracy, or political parties but until the change in this thinking, there won’t be positive attitude towards private sector. Investors in private sector only take risk if there is possibility of profit. They should be provided suitable environment for the protection and expansion of their business, but the reality is exactly opposite.

After the formation of local levels, the education system has become more complicated. What are the reasons behind it?

Constitution has provided the responsibility of basic and secondary level education to the local governments. Technical education, technical university and province library are the responsibilities of province government. Universities, national library and making structure of whole education system are the responsibilities of federal government but there is a misunderstanding about these duties.  The whole structure of education system should be made by central government, but local levels had a misconception that it is their responsibility. However, these units have no funds for investment and depends on federal government even for salary of teachers. Thus, there should be clarity in rights and duties of every unit.

753 local levels of Nepal have 753 points of views and explanations. Province has right to make education rules without hampering federal system and similarly local units can make rules that cause no harm to province. For the unity in education system there should be federal structure. In the upcoming days, there might be challenges in education field when one municipal unit refuges to accept the certificate of another municipal unit due to the difference in rules and criteria. Same as certificates of some Indian institutes are not accepted by Nepali universities. Thus, we need to understand respective responsibilities of different governmental units and try make a framework of rules by collective decisions.

Since long time, Bill has been registered in parliament for education act. What is the viewpoint of HISSAN on this topic?

The motive of education should be clear and long-term vision should be made for the development in education field. The point of discussion could be the progress needs in quality of education, plans for infrastructure development, revision of courses, course books. Education should be globally compatible. During the amendment of bill, there is a provision of converting private institutes into trusts. This is against the constitution, and no one has rights to decide this. Our establishment is linked with company Act, according to which we have right to operate on our own decision of funds management. But there is news in the market that we should be clear on our calculations and then after 5, 10 years all the properties should be summited to the government. This is not correct, and parliament has no rights to decide this. Second thing is requirement of autonomy in education. Private institutes completing required criteria should be made autonomous which helps to bring quality in education through healthy competition. Everyone agrees that government colleges and schools lack required standard of education then, effective plans and models should be created for the improvement. Instead, we can bring cooperatives model. Again, if private units want autonomy and pay taxes then, they should be supported on that. The amount received by private sector depends on their facilities which is determined by the market demand. Similarly, our objection is regarding the compulsive provision of teaching social studies in Nepali language.  Another, SEE exams should be conducted through a convincing mechanism. With the increase in exams and competitions, students become sharp and intelligent. Even examinations of grade 11 and 12 should be conducted through standard process. Among 163 points mentioned in the Education Act, only 11 are directly concerned with private sectors so, it’s better if we have a separate Act.

Even after the amendment there are still chances of improvement, what initiatives HISSAN is carrying out for further amendment of the Act?

We have talked with leaders of some parties, members of parliament, education committee members clearly. There are some people who are in our favor too. The main problem is they support us in private talk but are quite against publicly. There is a practice of speaking by considering situation and place which is not right.

Before HISSAN was active in district level but now it has been trying to link with municipalities too. What are your plans?

Mainly, HISSAN is the association of +2 and higher-level private education. The required number of colleges was not available in all municipalities; thus we were limited up to district level.  Now, we are trying to associate with those municipalities which have certain required criteria.

The diverse interpretations among local-level representatives have, to some extent, dampened enthusiasm for private investment in education. How can you assure the security and viability of investing in private education in Nepal?

Every mayor and deputy mayor are expressing their viewpoint, but some exhibit thoughtfulness. Those who believe that education and health constitute civic rights play a pivotal role in expanding quality educational institutions and healthcare services in their municipalities. However, in many areas, a negative perspective prevails. Personally, I advocate for investing in private education without any hesitation. Private schools and colleges enroll more students than government institutions. Thus, by delivering quality education, robust infrastructure, and superior facilities, we can attract students to our institutions. Nevertheless, there are challenging factors, such as shrinking population growth and student immigration. I believe these challenges can be addressed with effective government policies, considering they also impact public education. Every field carries risks, so we should not be afraid to invest and should not shy away from hard work.

What is your stance on the central, federal, and local governments hesitating to include HISSAN in policy dialogues?

This is not the case in every place. There are certain issues regarding this, but it is also because of some people of private field too. In some places, institutes are considering themselves to be superior and some even have internal competitions. There are some government bodies who are happily connected with us and entertain us. In some places, we are being ignored it might be because our friends are not able to make people understand clearly. We need to be active and make them understand to solve this problem.

As the president of HISSAN on the eve of the central convention, what strategies do you have in place to effectively articulate the concerns of the private sector in an organized manner?

One distinctive feature of our approach is that we refrain from conducting elections through the casting of votes for any position. This decision is rooted in the understanding that voting often leads to misunderstandings and arguments among our members. Our plan is to hold the next convention at the outset of the year 2081, where we will carefully select the most suitable leader capable of engaging in constructive dialogue with all stakeholders in private education and effectively voicing our concerns. This time, we are collaborating with districts and provinces. Following its conclusion, we intend to organize a grand convention.