The Human Rights Group formed by the Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC) under Baijanath Rural Municipality has submitted a study report along with a set of recommendations to Baijanath Rural Municipality, urging an increase in the scholarship amount being provided to Dalit students and girls.
In the report submitted to the rural municipality chairperson, Prakash Bahadur Shahi, on May 20, the Human Rights Group stated that the scholarship amount of Rs. 400 per year, which has been provided for the past two decades through the local level to Dalit and non-Dalit girl students studying in government schools, is extremely low and ineffective in the current market context.
The report notes that the existing Rs. 400 is not sufficient even to purchase basic educational materials such as school uniforms, copies, and pens. The group has concluded that the scholarship programme, which was implemented with the aim of retaining economically disadvantaged Dalit families and girls in schools, has not been able to achieve the expected impact.
Although the Government of Nepal has been implementing various incentive-based programmes to ensure equal access to education, gender equality, and social justice, the group has stated that these programmes have not been effectively implemented in practice. The report mentions that the current scholarship amount is unable to cover even the minimum financial support required for students from poor and marginalized communities to continue their education.