In the budget speech presented by Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle, it has been stated that residential schools will be operated to ensure access to basic education for communities lagging behind in the Human Development Index.
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The budget presented in Parliament on Friday for the coming fiscal year mentions the operation of residential schools for children of the Chepang community. Point 'J' of the 'Quality Education' section of the budget speech presented by Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle states that residential schools will be operated to ensure access to basic education for communities lagging behind in the Human Development Index.
‘We will start this program from the Chepang community of Chitwan district,’ the budget states. Govindaram Chepang, central president of the Nepal Chepang Association, who is also a member of the Constituent Assembly, has said that this is a good step for the education of the Chepangs. ‘We do not know what the essence is. The budget has been included in the speech. Let’s see how this program progresses. It would be good if it is implemented,’ he said.
The Chepangs are an indigenous community belonging to the most marginalized category of Nepal. The Chepang community is mainly settled in the hilly areas of Chitwan, Makawanpur, Dhading and Gorkha districts. According to the 2078 census, the total population of Chepangs across the country is 84,364. The largest number is in Chitwan with 35,637, followed by Makawanpur with 23,650, Dhading with 17,160 and Gorkha with 4,268.
The Chepang community lives in a hilly area where basic infrastructure such as transportation is lacking. Chairman Govindaram Chepang said that the Chepangs are in a weak state of education due to scattered houses and inadequate schools on the hillsides. He informed that the literacy rate is less than 50 percent. Therefore, he says that it is necessary to start this program and increase it.
‘On behalf of the association, we had met four MPs from the four Chepang-dominated constituencies of Makawanpur, Dhading and Chitwan and asked them to start the Chepang development program. It was not included in the budget. This issue of education has come up. It should be implemented anyway,’ he said. The government had started the Praja Vikas program for the Chepang community since 2034 BS. However, this program has been stopped since 2075 BS.
