Plans, possibilities and prerequisites | Purbanchal

BUDHI KATEL

With fast developing transport services and communication facilities, Chitwan has made impressive strides in the education sector. As a result, the plan to convert Chitwan into 'Education City' has resurfaced.

KN Khanal, a teacher who as been assigned as chief coordinator of the Education City project by the Chamber of Commerce and Industries in Narayanghat, says, "We want Chitwan to become a centre of learning like Benaras of India. Resources are abundant here, we only need to direct our efforts toward health and educational development."

Chitwan has an average population of 5,00,000 according to Saptamukhi Multiple Campus' chief, Harihar Khanal. He says, "We can provide educational services to 18,00,000 individuals with neighbouring districts such as Nawalparasi, Dhading, Makwanpur, Tanahun, Lamjung and Gorkha."

Chitwan had no schools until 1951. Today, it has 211 primary, 58 lower secondary, 115 secondary and 31 higher secondary schools. In 1961, Chitwan's first high school was established. The number of students appearing in the SLC exams from Chitwan has steadily risen through the years: from 80176 in 1989 to 167327 in 2005. The number of female students has also increased. The average percentage obtained by SLC-appeared students of Chitwan in 2005 was 70 percent while the national percentage was 38.72 percent.

In 1965, Chitwan had its first college, Birendra Intermediate College, currently, Birendra Multiple Campus. There are 16 government, public and private colleges providing graduate level education. Among them, five provide up to post-graduate degrees while Rampur Campus of Agricultural and Animal Sciences remains the only institute providing PhD programmes in the respective fields. Five educational institutes including TU and CTEVT, provide training and education in technical areas, AHA and Staff Nurse. College of Medical Sciences, Bharatpur, is known as a quality institute for MBBS. Around 2,00,000 students here attend graduate or +2 colleges. Despite Chitwan's impressive educational standing, the district lacks a university.

Hemraj Sharma, executive member of Private and Boarding School Organisation (PABSON) says, "If political stability is guaranteed, Chitwan could become an education hub." Uday Kumar Shrestha, chairman of Narayanghat's Chamber of Commerce and Industries, is excited about investing in Chitwan's future in the educational sector. He suggests that institutes in Kathmandu be invited to open branches here.