HELLO NEPAL

Be responsible It was not surprising to know that the text books for the new academic session will not be adequately printed and delivered to the remote districts on time this year also. The government owned Janak Education Material Centre (JEMC) has always failed to print adequate number of text books before the beginning of new academic session. As a result, the students, especially from the rural and remote areas, had to suffer a lot. Same problem seems to be repeated this year “Manage adequate textbooks for new academic session, govt told” (THT, 18 January, Page 2). This problem has continued to persist for the last several years. The government has not put any effort to solve this problem. Millions of government and donor funds have been invested in the education sector in the name of “education for all”. According to JMEC, a total of 130,000 textbooks are required for grade VI to IX for the country. It has printed only 80,000 textbooks so far. However, it is interesting

The Himalayan Times 12 January 2017 Political gap not healthy It is frustrating to see the ongoing political environment in the country at a time when the major political parties should have set aside their political differences and been ready for the local elections. This does not show a healthy political trend. The political gap between the ruling and the opposition parties is widening which is not a good indication. The ruling parties have started playing number games in Parliament for getting through the constitution amendment bill. The opposition parties led by the UML do not seem to budge a single inch from their political stand. However, NC general secretary Shashank Koirala seems to be in favour of political consensus among the parties for going to the polls (“Political consensus must for polls: Shashank” 10 January, Page 3). But, will he be able to convince other Congress leaders to be serious in having political dialogue with the opposition and the other agita

The Kathmandu Post 8 January 2017 ALARMING SITUATION It seems that the ongoing political situation in the country may either end productively or create constitutional crisis. The transition period has not been conducive for constitution implementation. The government has hardly a year’s time to hold three tiers of elections, which does not seem likely given the ongoing stalemate. If the government fails to fulfil its duty on time, the chances of a crisis are very high. After going through the article (“Between a rock and a hard place” 4 January, Page 6), I am sure, many readers will have been nervous, considering the governing parties on one side and the UML led opposition and Madhes based parties on the other side at a time when they should have resolved all political differences and been ready to participate in local elections. The current political situation demands two things; first, the government has to sit with the Madhes based parties to come to a consensus. Unles

The Himalayan Times 6 January 2017 No alternative to talks One should not get surprised if the three major will come to consensus in near future to save their face as they did in the past “Parties mull face-saving formula for consensus” (THT, 3 rd January, Page 1). Looking closely at the ongoing political dialogue among these major parties, there seems to be a chance  of the government withdrawing its bill related to constitution amendment and holding the three tiers of elections before January 21, 2018. Both the government and the opposition seem to be softening their stands. There is no alternative for them to forging consensus and going for the election. Otherwise, there will be political and constitutional crisis in the country if they fail to implement the new constitution. However, the UML led opposition parties have continued to obstruct the House proceedings for the last one month to exert pressure on the coalition government to withdraw the amendment bill. On th