Article 31 of the Constitution of Nepal provides for the right to education. In this, the fundamental right of students to receive compulsory education up to the basic level and free education up to the secondary level is ensured. To implement this right, the Compulsory and Free Education Act, 2075 BS and the Compulsory and Free Education Regulations, 2077 BS are being implemented.

Section 3 of the Compulsory and Free Education Act, 2075 BS states that every citizen shall have the right to equitable access to quality education. Similarly, Section 4 provides for the responsibility of providing education to the state. Although community schools have been providing almost 'free' education, privately funded institutional schools have been charging fees.

Similarly, Section 27 provides for institutional schools to be service-oriented. Sub-section (3) of Section 27 provides for the reservation of places for private funded schools and schools run under public educational trusts to provide free education to a certain number of students from the total number of students in the school from early childhood development and education to 12th grade, based on the number of students.

According to which, it has been provided that schools with up to five hundred students should provide scholarships to at least 10 percent, schools with five hundred to eight hundred students should provide scholarships to at least 12 percent, and schools with more than eight hundred students should provide scholarships to at least 15 percent of students. In order to implement this provision, i.e., to properly manage the identification, selection, and distribution of children receiving scholarships, special arrangements, and opportunities, and to monitor the same, Rule 11 of the Compulsory and Free Education Regulations, 2077 has provided for the formation of a Scholarship Management Committee at each local level.

To implement the same provision, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has written to the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration on Chaitra 30, 2082, requesting for monitoring, coordination, and facilitation of whether institutional schools are providing scholarships or not. In this letter, it has been requested to update the details of whether scholarships have been provided to poor, disabled, women, Dalit and tribal students as per the provision of Section 27 of the Compulsory and Free Education Act, 2075 BS and Sub-rule 2 of Rule 151 of the Education Regulations, 2059 BS, without reducing the total number of students by at least 10 percent, and to immediately update the details of the schools that have not done so. However, the legal provisions mentioned in this letter are contradictory.

The letter relies on the provision of reservation for providing free education as mentioned in Section 27 of the Compulsory and Free Education Act, 2075 BS, which has provided for providing scholarships up to 15 percent based on the number. However, Sub-rule 2 of Rule 151 of the Education Regulations, 2059 BS, has provided for providing at least ten percent scholarships. Thus, both these provisions are contradictory to each other.

In addition, there is confusion in the scholarship selection method. Rule 11 of the Compulsory and Free Education Regulations, 2077 BS provides for the formation of a 5-member Scholarship Management Committee under the chairmanship of the local level chairperson or head to properly manage and monitor the identification, selection and distribution of children receiving scholarships, special arrangements and opportunities.

However, Rule 145 (a) of the Education Regulations, 2059 BS provides for an 8-member School Classification and Fee Monitoring Committee under the coordination of the Head of the Education Development and Coordination Unit, which has made provision for the selection of students receiving scholarships in accordance with Sub-rule 2 of Rule 151.

In this way, it seems that the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology itself is unclear about which Act and Regulation to implement. This complexity has arisen because of different provisions in two different Acts/Regulations. It seems that some issues need to be considered in the context of implementing which one. The Education Regulations, 2059 BS are made to exercise the powers delegated by Section 19 of the Act to effectively implement the Education Act, 2028 BS.

In the context of the above-mentioned provisions of the Regulations, Rule 145 (a) was introduced in 2062 BS by the Third Amendment. As per the provision of Sub-rule 2 of Rule 151, the provision of providing scholarships to poor, disabled, women, Dalit and tribal students without reducing the total number of students by at least ten percent was amended in 2067 by the Sixth Amendment. At that time, the Interim Constitution of Nepal, 2063 was in force.

Article 17 of which provided for the right to education and culture. Article 17 (2) provides that every citizen shall have the right to free education from the state up to the level as provided in the law. The Education Regulations were amended to make this provision alive. 

In this way, it seems that the Compulsory and Free Education Act, 2075 and the Compulsory and Free Education Regulations, 2077 were issued to implement the fundamental right to education provided for in Article 31 of the Constitution of Nepal, which is currently in force. Also, Rule 151 of the Education Regulations, 2059 was amended by the Constituent Assembly before the constitution was made and was not amended in the context of implementing the provision related to scholarships after the constitution was promulgated, and it seems that it cannot include the spirit and spirit of the Constitution in comparison.