As per the discussion of the 201st meeting of the Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT) held on 2081-04-32, CTEVT organized a province-wise briefing program for its province offices on September 17, 2024, at Sanothimi, Bhaktapur. The directors from all CTEVT province offices presented the current status of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in their provinces, problems and challenges, and ways forward.

Speaking as the chief guest of the program, the Chairperson of CTEVT, Honorable Minister of Education, Science, and Technology, Ms. Bidya Bhattarai, emphasized the need for significant changes in the TVET system. She highlighted that committees have been formed to provide reports on the restructuring of CTEVT within the federal system and on curricular reforms. She acknowledged that the lack of a new TVET Act has caused difficulties and assured her commitment to pushing for its enactment. The Honorable Minister Bhattarai stressed that good governance, transparency, efficient service delivery, and optimal utilization of available resources are critical in today’s public organizations, including CTEVT. She added that these challenges can be addressed through digitalization. The Minister also emphasized the importance of ensuring free access to TVET programs especially for the disadvantaged groups and responded to concerns raised by trade union representatives of CTEVT.

The special guest of the program, the Honorable Member of the National Planning Commission (NPC), Ms. Gita Kumari Paudyal Adhikari, underscored the importance of the program. She requested the presenters to focus on key areas such as the number of institutions, current student enrollment, scholarship provisions, fee structures, curricula, and examination systems. Likewise, CTEVT Council member, Mr. Shailendra Mohan Jha, expressed his gratitude to the province directors for their insightful presentations, which he said would provide valuable insights into the actual situation of CTEVT at the provincial and local levels and aid future planning.

The chairperson of the program, Member Secretary of CTEVT, Er. Mahesh Bhattarai, expressed his gratitude to the Honorable Minister and the Honorable NPC member for their time and valuable input. He also thanked all the presenters. Er. Bhattarai emphasized that the goals of general education and vocational education are distinct and called for a separate, standalone TVET Act.

Mr. Tek Bahadur Malla, Director of the National Skill Testing Board (NSTB), delivered the welcome remarks in the program. Province-wise presentations were made by Mr. Daya Ram Acharya from the Sudurpaschim Province Office, Mr. Achyut Raj Dahal from the Karnali Province Office, Mr. Yadav Subedi from the Lumbini Province Office, Mr. Kalpa Kumar Basnet from the Gandaki Province Office, Mr. Shreedhar Nepal from the Bagmati Province Office, Mr. Nagendra Sah from the Madhesh Province Office, and Mr. Sanjay Kumar Neupane from the Koshi Province Office. Additionally, Mr. Anil Muni Bajracharya, Principal of Shankharapur Polytechnic Institute, highlighted the achievements made by CTEVT thus far and expressed the willingness of the CTEVT team to work under the Minister’s leadership. The program was attended by the council members, directors, deputy directors, officers, and trade union representatives of CTEVT and was facilitated by Ms. Dipika Sharma, Deputy Director, Technical Division at CTEVT.