The four-day Kantipur Hissan Edu-fair 2016, jointly organised by the Kantipur Media Group (KMG) and the Higher Secondary School’s Association Nepal (Hissan) kicked off at the Exhibition Hall in Bhrikutimandap on Thursday.

Minister for Education Giriraj Mani Pokharel inaugurated the gala, which is aimed at targeting SLC and Plus Two graduates. Speaking at the programme, Pokharel said, “Nepali students need not go abroad for higher education because we have competent academicians here. We can offer international standard education in the country.” He also thanked Hissan for taking an initiative to assist the government in the field of education.

He stressed the need for joint effort between the government, community and individuals for improving the quality of education. “This kind of event is a great platform for fresh students to get right information about choosing their career,” said Pokharel.

However, he also talked about the gap in the quality of education existing between rural and urban areas. Minister Pokharel appealed to everyone to close this divide. He said Nepal could be an educational hub if research-based technical education is promoted.

On the first day of the exhibition, scores of students visited the stalls of 99 domestic institutions. “Coming here, I got confidence in choosing my higher education career,” said Phudolma Sherpa, 17, an SLC graduate from Jorpati, who attended the event with 20 friends.

“We also got to learn about the newly adopted grading system in SLC. Some of us also took tests for scholarship in Plus Two enrolment,” said Sherpa.

Addressing the programme, Hissan Chairperson Ramesh Silwal said the organisers’ main concern was to inform both students and their parents that academic institutions in Nepal are competent enough to impart quality education.

Like Raj Timalsina, who appeared the SLC exam from Ratna Rajaya School in Mid-Baneshwor, many students were happy to be counselled free of cost. The college expo will end on May 22.

What organisers say

Lok Bahadur Bhandari (General Secretary of Hissan)

We are trying to revolutionise the education sector for providing students with better knowledge and skills. For this, we have brought the country’s reputed education institutions under one roof in this expo. Besides, 2,000 students will be given 100 percent scholarship on merit basis.

Ramesh Kumar Silwal (Hissan Chairperson)

This event is solely for fresh SLC graduates who need proper guidance for shaping their career. Here you can see the participation of almost all the best colleges in the Valley, and students can get orientation on the newly adopted SLC grading system. Every stall has come up with innovative ways of presentation. Students will also get counselling in a more professional manner.

Narayan Koirala (HSEB Spokesperson)

Here students can choose the best college. They could get deceived if they personally visited individual colleges. Since they all are at the same place here, it’s hard for them to disseminate wrong information as they have to compete with the others. Our aim is to produce competent students in the international market, for which over 4,000 educational professionals have joined hands.