The Chief Minister of Madhesh Province Satish Kumar Singh, as his first official letter, has written to the central government’s Minister of Education, Science and Technology Sumana Shrestha requesting the set-up of branch of the national Budhanilkantha School in Madhesh Province. He has written that the school in Madhesh will maintain the vision, objective and standards of the prestigious school by intaking students from all the 7 provinces and 77 districts and be inclusive by admitting full scholarship, half-scholarship and full-fee paying students, thus creating a cohort of students with national unity and truly representative.
The Chief Minister has focused on providing scholarship to at least one student from every family who lost a member during several movements, conflict and protests from the eight districts of the Madhesh province as a gesture of justice to these families. Madhesh province is in dire need to increase the literacy rate and the government school infrastructure. He has also stated for an intake of at least 50% female students from across the nation as a commitment to see rise in girls completing the education.
Representative of the Chief Minister Er Deepak Kumar Sah handed over the letter to the Minister of Education, Science and Technology.
A copy of the letter was also handed over to Santosh Shah, an alternative education expert and an alumnus of Budhanilkantha School who comes from Sarlahi district of Madhesh province. Shah said that agriculture vocational education will be a key component for this upcoming school since it will directly train students to value the fertile land across the nation and to tackle the issues of youth unemployment, foreign migration and import of basic foods.
Established in 1972, the graduates of Budhanilkantha School are today all over the world as well as in Nepal, leading excellent careers and serving the nation. The students come from all levels of family economy standard, geography and ethnicity. Once the school branch is established in Madhesh, the school will play a vital role in uplifting the education standards of the nation as well as develop the municipality of its establishment.