The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has asked all local governments to coordinate and facilitate legal action against schools that fail to provide scholarships in accordance with the law.

In a letter sent on Monday to the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration, the education ministry urged local units to monitor and ensure that private and public schools have updated records of scholarships provided as per the provisions, at least 10 percent of the total enrollment.

As per the Compulsory and Free Education Act, 2018, private schools and those operated under public educational trusts are required to reserve seats to provide free education to a certain number of students based on total enrolment.

Similarly, the Education Regulations, 2002, mandate institutional schools to provide scholarships to at least 10 percent of their total students, prioritising those from poor, marginalised, female, Dalit and indigenous communities. However, private schools have either been reluctant to provide scholarships or failed to ensure transparency in their distribution.

Prime Minister Balendra Shah, as the mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, had effectively enforced the legal provision within the metropolis, earning him widespread applause.

“The ministry has also instructed all schools to immediately update the details of scholarship recipients in the Integrated Management Information System in accordance with the prescribed selection process,” the ministry said in a statement.

Schools have been asked to make the list of scholarship recipients public in a way accessible to all parents, and local governments have been urged to monitor whether such records are updated. Schools failing to comply should be compelled to update the information without delay, the letter states.