Planings For Bringing Quality Education

Machhapuchhre Rural Municipality, on the southern part of Mt. Annapurna and Mt. Machhapuchhre, has an area of 544.58 square kilometers. Gurung, Dalit, and other communities live in the nine wards of the Rural Municipality.

The following is the edited part of the conversation between Min Bahadur Gurung, Chairperson, Machhapuchhre Rural Municipality, and Narayan KC, INSEC Representative, Kaski District focusing on human rights concerns:

What work is the municipality doing in the field of education and health?

We visited 40 public and seven private schools with plans to bring some changes to education. We conducted a parenting education program with the participation of parents from May 9 to May 15, 2023, to discuss the responsibilities of schools, parents, and students. We are planning to arrange free treatment for patients with diabetes, and pressure. For that, we’ve been planning to collect data on citizens aged above 75 and 80 years within the rural municipality. In addition, We have also declared the Rural Municipality a vaccinated zone.

How many human rights-friendly laws have the rural municipality formulated so far?

The rural municipality has not yet created any human rights-friendly law as the fiscal year is coming to an end. However, we are working on bringing such laws for the next year. We are also planning to work in coordination with the human rights group formed by INSEC.

How are the women, Dalits, disabled and minority communities prioritized during the selection of plans?

Since I am new, I am unaware of the exact situation. However, We are preparing to bring policies and programs for the coming year. A plan to discuss allocating the budget for different issues is being made.

What is the current situation of the women and the children in the Rural Municipality? 

Domestic violence against women’s rights is at an increasing rate. The judicial committee has been working to minimize such incidents. Likewise, Child marriage is on the rise among school-going children. Therefore, the conduction of various awareness programs is being done for its reduction. We are preparing to provide training regarding the following situation. 

 How are you working to include marginalized children in schools for education?

We plan to set up a separate fund for financially unstable children and for those who have no parents by arranging necessary stationeries and uniforms.